


Days of Love

by finite



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Domestic!AU, M/M, Some Fluff, Some angst, a very cliche domestic couple life, just woogyu being gross couple, some slice-of-life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-08 22:31:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7776217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finite/pseuds/finite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Woohyun and Sunggyu are a married couple. This story follows their very first meeting down to the depth of their domestic life.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

> Reposted from AFF. Will be updating new chapters on both sites (hopefully)

-

It was one of the most terrible days Sunggyu had in years. From his alarm clock betraying him which led to him running to his workplace, almost half an hour late to an important presentation in which his job promotion depended on it, to the bad weather that caused him to get stuck outside during lunch time, with his boss coffee with him. And to top everything off, he also conveniently forgot to bring along an umbrella. His boss’ secretary yelled at him over the phone, threatening that if he didn’t bring the coffee back in ten minutes then he could say goodbye to his lame desk job. Not that Sunggyu was thrilled to keep his job, it was the only thing he could count on, feeding him and giving him a decent place to live as he waited for better job opportunity to grab.

Without hesitance, Sunggyu ran into the rain, almost slipping on the slippery pavement a few times, praying to God that the coffee wasn’t spilled or ruined by the time he reached his office. So when he found out that his boss was not even in, he didn’t know whether he felt grateful because he got to keep his job, or that he wanted to punch someone in the face. He settled for glaring at the secretary, who was sipping on the cold coffee that _he_ bought initially for _the boss_.

Sunggyu silently prayed that the day would somehow get better (he knew it won’t). He didn’t have such luck.

-

Woohyun woke up earlier than the alarm he set on his phone. He felt giddy for some unknown reasons. He decided to take a long, warm bath before heading to college today. He had a bubbling feeling that the day was going to be a good one – that was until it rained while he was on the bus, on the way to his university. He hated himself for always forgetting to pack his umbrella. He let out a loud sigh. It was going to be a long day.

He was wrong when he thought that his initial giddiness when he woke up meant something good. Out of all days, he had forgotten to check on his phone before he left the house. Now, he stood at the front gate of his university, phoneless and totally clueless of what class he had today and where – thanks to his forgetful nature.

So, Woohyun took the extra effort to go to his faculty office, praying to Lord that someone kind-hearted would entertain his request for a new class schedule. Miraculously, he bumped into his coursemate, Sungyeol, who nagged at him for forgetting things easily and that was how he attended his first class of the day, fifteen minutes late with the professor giving him the stink eye throughout her lecture. It was going to be a long day indeed.

-

_Taurus: Smile my dear. Something magical is waiting for you today._

Sunggyu almost snorted at the horoscope reading. He didn’t know why he kept coming back to this site to check on his daily horoscope when he didn’t even believe in any of those bullcraps. Considering how ‘well’ his day had gone today, he was pretty sure that the horoscope was mocking him.

There was another five minutes before he could get off from work and he was already cheering for the image of him drowning in his beers and chicken alone at home. Tapping his fingers impatiently as he chanted for time to go faster, Sunggyu did a mental cheer when the clock finally struck five.

He didn’t waste any time and started packing, eager to get out of his suffocating workplace. Just as he was about to walk out of his cubicle, a sickeningly sweet voice halted his steps.

“Sunggyu-yah, are you leaving already?”

Sunggyu turned as slow as he could, not wanting to face his boss’ secretary. He quirked an eyebrow at the provocative way she was sitting at the edge of her table.

“Yeah? It’s five already. You should, too,” Sunggyu said in a boring tone. He just wanted to get the hell out of the office.

“Ah, really? What to do, Sunggyu-yah? Boss called just now and he asked you to help me with the meeting preparation tomorrow,” she said, giving him a sultry look that made him feel a vomit coming up in his throat.

Sunggyu sighed as loud as he could, dropping his briefcase as he dejectedly walked towards the woman. He had come to a conclusion that this must be the worst day in his life.

-

Woohyun sighed for the umpteenth time as he looked down at the ugly red marks on his test paper. He failed a test (again) and it was near the end of the semester. It meant he had to work his ass off for his final examination later. It was not his first time failing a test; he was not exactly the best when it came to academic. But that didn’t mean he was not disappointed and sad when it happened.

Considering how bad his day had been, he felt really down and upset. He glanced around the almost empty bus, realising he should be ready to get off at the next stop. However, when his stop came, he never got off. He decided that it won’t hurt to take another trip around the city. He figured that he needed the extra time to sort his thoughts and feelings. Woohyun ended up sleeping in the bus.

-

Sunggyu was cursing under his breath as he walked towards the bus stop. He couldn’t believe that he got tricked into doing the secretary’s job all night long. It was almost eleven when he reached the bus stop, somehow grateful that he didn’t miss the last bus home or he had to walk all the way back to his house.

He gratefully stepped into the warmth of the bus and noticed that besides the bus driver, there was only a person sleeping at the back of the bus. He shrugged and decided to take the back seat as well, just across the sleeping man. He kept playing with his phone until the bus announced his stop.

Sunggyu was about to leave the bus when the bus driver called after him.

“Can you wake the boy at the back? This is the last stop for today’s trip,” he said.

Sunggyu wanted to argue that it might not even be the man’s stop, but fought against it as he begrudgingly made a way to the back of the bus again and shook the man awake.

“Excuse me? Wake up, please. It’s the last stop,” Sunggyu said, glad that the man was stirring awake.

Something fell from the man’s hand and Sunggyu bent down to pick it up. He saw the ‘F’ sign on the paper and apologetically handed it back to the man. The man rubbed his eyes and saw Sunggyu holding onto his failed test paper. He blushed deeply and quickly took the paper, following Sunggyu out of the bus.

Soon enough, the bus left the two of them at the empty bus stop. Sunggyu awkwardly cleared his throat, not knowing what to say. He didn’t know why he felt obligated to say something to the man who seemed pretty disoriented at the moment.

“Um, so good night?” Sunggyu said, wanting to hit himself for the lame greeting as he turned around and started heading towards his house.

“Excuse me, which stop is this?” The man’s question halted Sunggyu in his step. He turned around and made his way back to the man.

“It’s Yongsan-dong,” Sunggyu clarified.

Something close to horror struck the man’s face. Then, he started panicking.

“Hey, are you okay? Isn’t this your stop?”

The man looked up from his crouching position and pathetically shook his head. Sunggyu almost smiled at the sight, the man looked like a lost, sad puppy from this view.

“Well, where are you from? I don’t think there is any running bus at this hour. Do you have anyone that can pick you up from here?” Sunggyu asked, walking closer to the distressed man.

Seeing how he didn’t answer any of Sunggyu’s questions, he copied the man’s move and crouched next to him. Sunggyu was clearly not the type who would comfort random stranger, but he found himself patting the man’s back.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Woohyun.”

“Do you have anyone that you can call to pick you up, Woohyun?”

Woohyun shook his head, muttering something under his breath.

“What’s that? I can’t hear you,” Sunggyu said.

“I left my phone at home today…and I don’t memorise anyone’s number,” Woohyun replied in a dejected tone.

Sunggyu tried to form any possible solution for the pitiful man next to him, but he couldn’t think of anything besides offering his house for the night and giving Woohyun a warm tea that could possibly make his bad day better. It was obvious how both of them had had a bad day, if the crumpled test paper in Woohyun’s hand was any indication. So, Sunggyu tried his best to carefully word his thoughts without appearing like a creep.

“Woohyun, do you trust me?” Sunggyu asked, internally cringing at how cheesy it sounded like.

“No, not really,” Woohyun answered, which caught Sunggyu off guard, his face fell at the straight answer.

The man whined as Sunggyu’s hand smacked the back of his head. “You brat! I’m just trying to be nice, okay? Have fun sleeping outside in the cold. Bye!” Sunggyu hissed, standing up and was about to leave the poor excuse of a man alone.

But before he could make a move, Woohyun clung to his leg desperately.

“No, don’t leave me here. I-I’ll behave,” Woohyun quickly begged, giving him the most pathetic (cutest) looking puppy eyes ever.

That was how Sunggyu ended up bringing Woohyun, a complete stranger, home. Maybe, just maybe their day wasn’t completely bad. It could be the start of something new, something beautiful. Something _magical_.

-


	2. Home

-

Sunggyu finally let Woohyun into his modest home, blushing as he took in the condition of his house. He turned around to see Woohyun observing his house with his mouth agape. He quickly picked up some old take-outs and trashes on his coffee table, inviting the man to sit down and to make himself at home.

“I’m sorry it’s a bit messy. I was in a rush this morning,” Sunggyu said, padding across his small house to throw away the rubbish.

“It’s okay. It’s pretty homey, I guess. Um, I still don’t know your name,” Woohyun said, grabbing onto the strap of his backpack nervously.

Sunggyu stretched out a hand, finally introducing himself to the man, briefly telling him his age and what he did for a living. Woohyun took his hand and gave it a firm grasp.

“Oh, you’re a hyung then. I’m two years younger. An education major from Sejong University,” Woohyun said, releasing Sunggyu’s hand. Sunggyu noticed the nervous lip-biting and the fingers fiddling.

“Wow, so you’re going to be a teacher? What kind of teacher? Physical education?” Sunggyu said jokingly, in hope to take away the obvious nervousness from the younger man.

“I specialise in English language actually. I know it’s hard to believe…especially since you just saw that I failed my syntax test,” Woohyun muttered in a soft voice. Strangely, seeing the younger man so down tugged at Sunggyu’s heartstring. He reached out to squeeze Woohyun’s shoulder comfortingly.

“Hey, everyone fails once in a while, alright? Don’t let it get to you, okay? You can always try next time,” Sunggyu said, despite himself feeling like shit every time he failed in his life.

“I guess so…” Woohyun mumbled, wiggling away a bit from Sunggyu’s touch. Noticing this, Sunggyu quickly apologised and retracted his hand.

“Um, you must be nervous because well…we’re basically strangers yet you’re in my house,” Sunggyu said, laughing softly though he himself didn’t find anything funny in the situation.

Woohyun’s expression fell after that, as if he had just realised that he was in a stranger’s home and Sunggyu could possibly be a serial killer for all he knew. Sunggyu didn’t know what to do to make the younger man feel comfortable or trust him because even he was supposed to be wary of Woohyun as they didn’t even know each other. But then Sunggyu was reminded of the cute, almost puppy-like expression on Woohyun’s face – it made him decide that he could trust Woohyun not to be a creepy criminal who could kill him in his sleep.

“Anyway, I’m going to shower. Make yourself at home, Woohyun. Food’s in the fridge if you’re hungry,” Sunggyu said, standing up and finally left the man alone in the living room.

-

Woohyun exhaled a relieved breath as soon as Sunggyu was not in the same room as him. He hugged his knees, trying to calm himself down. He felt nervous to be in a complete stranger’s house and he thought back of the previous incidents throughout the day. He had a dreadful feeling that his day could possibly end in a disaster. He hit his forehead against his knees, feeling stupider than ever for not memorising any important number that he could call in case of an emergency like this.

He told himself that he was being overdramatic and thought of how Sunggyu had treated him so nicely, inviting him into his house even when Woohyun was a stranger to him. It calmed his heart a little, though he was still anxious and wary of what could possibly happen tonight. Woohyun pushed himself off the couch, eyeing the small space. He decided that he needed a distraction and Sunggyu’s messy living room could use a little help.

That was how Sunggyu walked in on Woohyun, busy bending over as he picked up various trashes and dirty clothes on the floor, perfectly showcasing his ass(et). He was mesmerised, unable to announce his presence as he admired the ‘view’. However, his moment of bliss was short-lived as Woohyun turned around, the happy content smile on his face faltering.

“Hey,” Sunggyu dumbly said, hoping that he was not drooling at the sight of the sweaty younger man.

“Uh, I’m sorry I just need to do something and you invited me in and the least that I can do is to return the hospitality,” Woohyun started babbling, hugging the dirty clothes closer to his body as he felt extremely small under Sunggyu’s piercing gaze.

“Calm down, Woohyun,” Sunggyu said, taking the clothes from Woohyun’s hands.

Woohyun felt like he couldn’t breathe because Sunggyu was standing too close, moving closer and closer towards him that had him walking backwards until the back of his legs hit the coffee table. Sunggyu stupidly realised his mistake a little too late and finally stepped away from the younger man. He cleared his throat to get rid of the awkwardness.

“Um, so are you hungry? I can cook if you want,” Sunggyu offered.

“Sure…Sunggyu-sshi,” Woohyun answered, only now realising how hungry he was. He let out a relieved breath as he gained his personal space back.

“Hyung…call me hyung, okay?” Sunggyu said, instinctively reaching out to pat Woohyun’s head. “You can shower now while I prepare the food. I left some clean clothes on the bed and a fresh towel there.”

“Thank you...Sunggyu hyung,” Woohyun muttered sincerely, his cheeks feeling warm at the older man’s kindness (and also at the sudden skinship).

-

Woohyun couldn’t imagine doing so many things that he had never thought of doing, all in span of one day. First, it was following a stranger home, and then cleaning that stranger’s living room as if he was a friend. And now he was about to step into the said stranger’s room and for that very reason, his heart was hammering in his chest. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the room. He tried not to get caught in his thoughts (he did that a lot) and tried not to observe the room, analysing everything.

But he couldn’t help himself as he took in the small yet warm room, just a plain white queen bed in the middle. There were only a simple nightstand next to the bed, a wooden wardrobe and a study table housing a laptop in the room. Woohyun’s eyes then fell on the clothes Sunggyu left for him on the bed. Hesitantly, he picked up the clothes and the towel; everything seemed to be in white colour. He also noticed that Sunggyu had also included a white striped boxer into the pile.

Woohyun knew he shouldn’t mind much about sharing clothes and underwear because they were both guys and he shared things with Dongwoo, his flatmate, all the freaking time. But for some unexplainable reasons, he felt shy at the thought of wearing a complete stranger’s clothes. He finally realised that he had been dwelling a lot on the matter and decided to quickly shower, so Sunggyu wouldn’t come barging in thinking Woohyun did something to his room.

The shower was a short one. Woohyun quickly dressed up, wearing the plain white t-shirt Sunggyu provided and the boxer. He hesitated to put on the boxer because it felt like he was going to step into a very private territory (he knew he sounded ridiculous). But then again, he was reminded that Sunggyu didn’t provide any other pants for him to wear. So, it’s either he wore that boxer or he had to go pants-less. That set his mind and choice.

As he stepped into the boxer and pulled it up to his waist, he frowned as it slid back down. It was too big for him.

“Oh God, help me,” he (dramatically) cried.

-


	3. First Night

-

Sunggyu thanked God that he did some grocery shopping the previous weekend and had some leftover _samgyupsal_ to grill. He proceeded to cook the rice and took out some side dishes his mother sent him last month. He was humming peacefully to himself as he cooked, a small smile forming on his face. Despite the bad things that kept happening to him all day, he felt strangely contented and happy. He wondered if meeting Woohyun had anything to do with that.

He finished setting up the small dining table, frowning to himself when he realised that Woohyun had been gone for almost an hour. Rubbing his wet hands on his apron, he made his way to the bedroom. He knocked on the door twice, asking Woohyun if everything was okay.

The door opened a few seconds later, revealing Woohyun’s head, his hair still damp from the shower and his cheeks light pink from the warm shower.

“Are you okay? You were taking quite a time,” Sunggyu asked, weirded out that the only part of Woohyun that he could see was his head, but decided against asking about it.

“Uh, I’m fine…but um hyung? Do you…um…have smaller pants I can wear because…” Woohyun couldn’t bring himself to say it as it was too embarrassing for him to admit that Sunggyu’s boxer was a bit too big on him.

“Oh? The one I gave doesn’t fit you?” Sunggyu asked and Woohyun wanted to drown in something, preferably in his tears.

He involuntarily let out a small whine as he nodded. It earned him a laugh from Sunggyu, the man pushing through the door so he could walk into his room. Woohyun secured his hand on the loose boxer around his waist as he carefully watched Sunggyu rummaged through his wardrobe to find other pants that Woohyun might fit. Sunggyu produced a pair of sweatpants and handed it to Woohyun.

“I don’t think I have anything that can fit you, but I guess this one will do. It has a drawstring, so you know; you can just tighten it so it’ll fit. Anyway, come out quick, the food’s ready,” Sunggyu said, holding himself back from staring at Woohyun’s exposed thighs as he quickly exited the room.

‘Something is definitely wrong with me,’ he mentally scolded himself.

When Woohyun appeared in his kitchen a while later, he couldn’t help but to take in the younger man’s appearance. Without his bulky jacket and hoodie, Woohyun was on the leaner side and Sunggyu’s t-shirt, which was probably one size bigger, looked a little big on him.

“Um, thanks for the clothes,” Woohyun said, awkwardly fixing the collar of his long-sleeved t-shirt.

Before the younger man sat down, Sunggyu managed to get a glimpse of how Woohyun had (cutely) folded the hems of his pants. It was adorable. He should have felt sorry for not having smaller clothes for the man, but instead he felt this strange warmness in his chest looking at how Woohyun barely fit in his clothes.

“I hope you like _samgyupsal_ ,” Sunggyu grinned, expecting a huge reaction from the man because _everyone_ in Korea liked _samgyupsal_. That’s a given. Well, apparently everyone except Woohyun – Sunggyu found out as he saw the younger man’s apologetic face.

“You don’t like it?” Sunggyu frowned.

It took a while to get a response from Woohyun as the man flashed him an awkward smile and denied Sunggyu’s statement.

“I l-like it. Don’t worry,” Woohyun muttered, quickly grabbing his chopsticks as a sign for him to start eating. Sunggyu’s frown deepened, instantly blocking Woohyun’s utensils from touching the meat.

“You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it, Woohyun,” Sunggyu offered, still puzzled at the younger man’s insistence despite his initial reaction.

“No, really. I like it,” Woohyun laughed sheepishly as he took a piece and excitedly munched on it as if to prove his point. “Thank you, Sunggyu hyung. I’m sorry I’m a bit slow in reacting to stuff.”

Sunggyu dropped the matter and started eating in silence, eyeing Woohyun every once in a while at the corner of his eyes. The younger man was also eating quietly and rather slowly, his expression somewhat showed that he was in some kind of pain. Sunggyu wanted to stop him from eating when it was obvious that he disliked the meat, but then again he remembered that they were practically strangers and he didn’t have the heart to scold the younger man. He ended up collecting most of the _samgyupsal_ and placed them in his plate, so that Woohyun didn’t have to eat everything.

“Let me do the dishes,” Woohyun offered after he finished his portion of the food. Sunggyu was about to argue that he was his guest, but Woohyun had already rolled his sleeves as he started collecting the plates. 

“Alright. You do the soaping then, I’ll rinse them,” Sunggyu said, slightly nudging Woohyun to make a space for him too in front of the kitchen sink.

Woohyun moved a bit to accommodate Sunggyu. He didn’t realise it before that he was actually a few centimetres shorter than Sunggyu, which kind of explained why he didn’t really fit the older man’s clothes. He tried his best not to touch Sunggyu’s hands or body, but it was pretty impossible as Sunggyu’s side kept bumping against him as he grabbed the soaped plates from his hands.

Sunggyu, on the other hand, felt his cheeks heating up at the close proximity of their bodies. He swore that at some point, his hand touched Woohyun’s and he felt this spark that sent shivers down his body. He just wanted the dish-washing to end quickly to get out of the awkward situation, but at the same time he wanted to prolong it. He felt like a creep for liking the closeness between the two of them. He constantly had to remind himself that Woohyun was a stranger that he barely knew.

“Hyung?” Woohyun’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Oh yeah?”

“We’re done. What are you waiting for?” Woohyun asked, wiping his hands on the t-shirt. Seeing this, Sunggyu shook his head and grabbed a hand towel, handing it to the younger man.

“I’m sorry,” Woohyun chuckled as he proceeded to wipe his hands on the towel instead. Then, he trailed behind Sunggyu, the older man leading him back into his living room.

Sunggyu turned on the TV and disappeared into his room, leaving Woohyun alone to sit awkwardly on the couch. The older man re-appeared with his laptop and a file.

“I hope you don’t mind. I’m going to do my work for a bit. You can, uh, go to sleep first if you want,” Sunggyu said, scratching the back of his head. He mentally slapped himself as he had just thought of the sleeping arrangement.

Sunggyu’s house only had two rooms; one was occupied by him and the other one had been turned into a store room where he kept his files and other stuff. So, he was internally panicking of where to ask the younger man to sleep for the night. The obvious option would be the couch, but he only had a two-seater couch which would be really uncomfortable to sleep in.

“I don’t mind. I can wait,” Woohyun said, flashing a bright smile that Sunggyu swore was blinding. “Can I pick any TV show to watch?”

“Yeah, be my guest,” Sunggyu said, shaking his head to rid of the image of Woohyun’s bright smile as it did weird things to his heart.

It turned out that Woohyun was a huge liar for saying that he could wait as barely ten minutes had passed, he was lightly snoring next to Sunggyu. It brought a smile onto Sunggyu’s face. Despite the constant reminder that Woohyun was a stranger to him still, for some unexplainable reasons, the younger man felt strangely familiar to him. It was as if they had known each other for so long.

He resumed his work and only decided to call it a night when it was two in the morning. He looked at the sleeping face of the younger man and it tugged at his heartstring how much Woohyun resembled a child when he slept. Reaching out for Woohyun’s head, he gently patted the younger man, stirring him awake.

“It’s two o’clock. Come on, let’s get you in bed,” Sunggyu said.

Woohyun was pretty obedient as he stood up and let himself be tugged into Sunggyu’s room. Sunggyu tucked the younger man in bed and Woohyun was out like a light in no time.

“Now what?” Sunggyu asked himself as he looked at the sleeping man in his bed.

He contemplated sleeping in his bed too because it shouldn’t be a problem as they were both guys. But then again, he reminded himself that they barely knew each other and he could scare Woohyun next morning when he woke up in the same bed as Sunggyu. He didn’t want to be seen as a creepy stranger who took advantage of the younger man while he was asleep. Therefore, Sunggyu decided to sleep on the floor despite that his back would probably regret it tomorrow.

-

Sunggyu was not a light sleeper, but he woke up to the sound of someone throwing up in the middle of the night. He glanced at the clock and it was thirty minutes past four. He panicked a little, thinking that maybe someone had broken into his home to puke all over his house. He felt silly for even considering that idea when he remembered that he had invited Woohyun, a stray puppy he found on the bus, to his home.

“Oh shit! Woohyun!”

He scrambled onto his feet and rushed to the connecting bathroom, frowning to himself as he found the door locked.

“Woohyun? Are you okay? Hey, open up,” Sunggyu said, frantically banging on the door when he earned no response from the younger man.

He stood still and pressed his ear to the door, hearing more sounds of Woohyun emptying his gut.

“Woohyun-ah, open this door please,” Sunggyu knocked on the door again, growing more worried the more he waited. He thought about the possibility that the food he gave Woohyun was spoilt, but then again, his stomach felt fine. Then he remembered the _samgyupsal_.

‘Shit, is he allergic?’

Thankfully, the door swung open, revealing a slightly pale Woohyun as the younger man flashed a weak smile at him.

“God, are you okay?” Sunggyu was quick to rush to Woohyun’s side, holding onto his arm as he let the younger man lean against him for support.

“Upset stomach, I guess,” Woohyun muttered softly. Sunggyu was guiding the man back to bed when Woohyun suddenly turned around and rushed to toilet bowl for another puking session.

He felt so horrible, shuddering as he threw up again, Sunggyu’s warm hand caressing his back.

“I’m sorry. It must have been the _samgyupsal_. I told you not to eat it if you don’t like it…why don’t you tell me earlier that you’re allergic to meat?” Sunggyu might be nagging and lightly scolding Woohyun, but his tone was kept soft as he continued to rub the younger man’s back comfortingly.

Woohyun rinsed his mouth and shifted on his feet to look at Sunggyu, his expression apologetic.

“I’m not mad. Come on,” Sunggyu said, pulling the man back into the room.

“You slept on the floor?” Woohyun asked. If he felt sorry earlier for causing trouble and worries to the older man, now he felt worse.

“I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable if you wake up to me sleeping next to you. And I couldn’t let you sleep on the floor, you’re my guest. Don’t worry about it,” Sunggyu explained, lifting the cover so that the younger man would get back in bed and he could resume sleeping. But it seemed that Woohyun had other idea in his mind.

“You can sleep on the bed too? I mean, it’s your bed anyway,” Woohyun said, saying it more like it’s a question rather than a statement.

“So, you don’t mind sleeping on the same bed with a complete stranger?” Sunggyu asked. He meant it to be a joke, but Woohyun’s face fell at the connotation of the question.

“Look, Woohyun I didn’t mean to…” Sunggyu said, but it was too late as Woohyun had already pulled the duvet over his body, turning his back on Sunggyu – obviously hurt by what Sunggyu said to him.

“I’m sorry,” Sunggyu muttered. Sighing, he took his earlier spot on the floor. He doubted that sleep would come to him after what he said to Woohyun left him swimming in guilt for the rest of the night. Maybe it was a bad idea to bring this stranger home after all.

-


	4. Apologies

-

Four months quickly passed. Not that Sunggyu counted, but it had been exactly four months since he woke up to an empty bed that housed Woohyun the night before, the younger man gone without a single trace as if he wasn’t even in Sunggyu’s home that night. The only thing that convinced Sunggyu that Woohyun was real and not a figment of his imagination was the simple _thank you_ note he left on the nightstand.

No phone number, no _see you around_ , nothing. Just a simple _thank you_ written neatly in the middle of a plain small paper. Sunggyu wasn’t the type to get sentimental and keep stuff for its sentimental value, but he found himself securing the paper in a box he had bought specifically during his lunch hour on the next day after Woohyun disappeared.

Just how unusual of him to keep the note, it was also very uncharacteristic of him to open the box every morning before he headed for work, as if to convince himself that he really met the younger man and that Woohyun was real. Realising how it had been exactly four months since he invited the stranger home (and since the man disappeared from his life as if they’d never met), he strangely felt like something was missing. And Woohyun was that something.

There were nights he dreamed of Woohyun’s hurt expression and woke up wishing that he had done things differently, wishing that he had slipped into bed with Woohyun without saying anything but _good night_ and _see you in the morning_. He wished.

Despite his regrets, he still braved himself to wake up every day to go to his lame desk job at the company, feeling miserable yet hopeful that someday he would meet Woohyun by chance and if he did, he would tell the younger man that he was sorry and he wanted them to start over. He realised that in those four months of hoping and wishing that Woohyun would somehow end up on the same last bus as him like he did the first time; he didn’t want them to be just strangers to each other. He wanted them to become friends. His other motive was not important as it was pushed to the back of his mind, but for now, being friends was the first step.

It was a fine sunny morning, a complete contrast to how Sunggyu was feeling as he rode the bus to work. There was a slight hope at the bottom of his heart that he would somehow bump into Woohyun, but still only a sad smile climbed onto his face as he knew the chance was very slim.

However, God bless his luck that day as ten minutes into the bus ride, his eyes caught sight of Woohyun’s familiar figure…except the man now had his left arm in a sling. Sunggyu wanted to rush to his side and ask him if he’s okay, but then he remembered that he needed to apologise first. So, he tentatively began approaching the younger man, who seemed pretty oblivious to his surroundings.

-

Woohyun let out a soft groan at the pain that shot through his shoulder. He hated himself for being so clumsy and got himself injured over a friendly futsal match last week. His left shoulder suffered a minor dislocation and it hurt like hell. His doctor had scheduled him for a series of physiotherapy until he showed improvements. It made him feel handicapped, every little thing he had to ask for his friend’s help, usually Dongwoo. He realised it now that he should be grateful before when he had two functional arms. But now the left one lied limply in a sling, he could only sigh, hoping that he would get better in no time.

While Woohyun was busy having his inner monologue, wallowing in the misery of his _broken_ shoulder as Hoya pointed out, the bus took a sudden left turn. It sent him off balance as he failed to grab onto the nearest hand holder. Almost frantically his right hand grabbed onto the nearest object to him and it happened to be a person, a stranger, but Woohyun didn’t care as he closed his eyes and kept holding onto the person’s shirt.

He felt himself getting steadied on his feet by the stranger and he opened his eyes to meet a familiar face. Woohyun’s face heated up at the close proximity and how he was practically clinging to the man. Sunggyu’s hands were wrapped around his waist, securing him from falling.

“Are you okay?” Sunggyu asked, letting Woohyun go as he didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention in case the younger man decided to push him away.

“Yeah, I guess,” Woohyun answered, avoiding Sunggyu’s concern-filled eyes.

“Uh, your university is another fifteen minutes away right? Come, let’s sit,” Sunggyu said, tugging at the unwilling man’s wrist.

Woohyun hated himself for not being able to say anything even after he had sat down next to the man. He felt guilty after he disappeared without any notice the morning after. He knew he was being too sensitive that night and he shouldn’t have taken it to heart. Sunggyu didn’t know how he didn’t even sleep and he knew that the older man kept on checking on him every half an hour. The guilt intensified as he went home only to get nagged by his worried flatmate that he shouldn’t have followed a stranger home. He told Dongwoo that he was lucky Sunggyu was a nice person. And Dongwoo’s question forever lingered in his head until this day.

_‘What if you’re not lucky, Hyun? You didn’t think about that, did you?’_

He realised it then: that he was lucky; out of all people in Seoul, he met Sunggyu.

“Is your arm alright?” Sunggyu asked; his concerned gaze steady on Woohyun who felt smaller and smaller under his scrutinising eyes.

“I ran into a goalpost last week while playing futsal,” Woohyun said, trying to laugh it off, but he only came off as awkward because even to him, getting injured was not something funny that could be turned into a joke.

“Is it serious? What did the doctor say?”

To be honest, Sunggyu’s worry over him was overwhelming, his ears turning red at the concern in his voice. Subconsciously, he touched his injured shoulder, neatly wrapped in layers of bandages underneath his clothes. It hurt even with the slightest pressure put and without him realising it, he was gripping onto his shoulder. A low pained groan escaped from his lips and that caused Sunggyu to grab the hand that was holding onto his injured shoulder.

“What are you doing? You’re hurting yourself,” Sunggyu hissed, holding tightly onto Woohyun’s wrist to prevent him from (subconsciously) hurting himself.

“Sorry…” Woohyun mumbled guiltily. He decided to shift his gaze outside of the bus, watching the changing scenery.

Woohyun could feel the awkwardness creeping up on them, but he said nothing to break the silence. He didn’t know what to say anyway. The only thing he had on his mind was how to apologise to Sunggyu for the other day. He hadn’t even personally thanked the older man for his hospitality and for being such a kind person to take him home (and not harm him). In his deep thinking, he didn’t realise that Sunggyu hadn’t released his hand.

“Woohyun-ah…are you still mad at me?” Sunggyu hesitantly asked, squeezing Woohyun’s hand as if to gain his attention.

Caught off guard by the question, Woohyun quickly turned to face the man, shook his head and was about to say something when the bus suddenly announced his stop. He bit his lips and blurted out what he had wanted to say since the morning he left Sunggyu’s house.

“I’m sorry for disappearing just like that and…thank you, Sunggyu hyung, thank you for everything,” Woohyun said it quickly as he stood up, making a dash towards the bus door and exiting the bus – leaving Sunggyu with his mouth agape, the older man still processing what was happening.

“Shit,” Sunggyu cursed, realising that he didn’t even get to apologise.

-

Woohyun beat himself over the fact that he didn’t even answer Sunggyu’s question and it must have sent the wrong message to the older man.

“He must think I’m still angry at him…when I wasn’t even mad in the first place,” he said to himself as he kept on knocking his head against the cafeteria table.

Suddenly he felt pain on his neck and felt himself getting pulled back, away from the table. He glared at Hoya, knowing full well that no one beside him would treat him like that. They were close friends and despite knowing that Hoya was just looking after him, he hated how harsh his friend was with him sometimes.

“That hurts! And I’m a sick person!” Woohyun childishly whined, rubbing his nape.

“Good that you know you’re sick. Are you trying to injure another part of your body? Do I need to remind you that your brain isn’t even that good to begin with? Do you want to further damage it?” Hoya chuckled as he sat down next to his pouting friend.

It was ridiculous how Woohyun acted like a kid around Hoya and Dongwoo despite them being same-aged friends. Hoya was the youngest out of the three of them, by just a few months but Woohyun seemed way younger at times. It was probably because of this fact, they willingly took the job to look after the man, considering his tendency to get himself injured or sick every other day.

Hoya’s hand reached out and massaged the place he had pinched Woohyun just now, amused at the ever-present pout on Woohyun’s lips.

“Are you five, Nam Woohyun? Stop pouting!” Hoya said.

Woohyun just scooted away from his friend and mumbled under his breath, “It’s not my fault I have fat lips.”

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry, okay? What’s up with the long face? Did you fail another test?”

“No…” Woohyun sighed, not knowing where to begin his story. It didn’t make sense. Sunggyu was just a stranger to him, it shouldn’t bother him this much. But somehow, it did and Woohyun hated the fact that Sunggyu seemed upset.

“Earth to Woohyun? Yo buddy, you alright there? Is your arm bothering you?” Hoya asked.

“I’m okay…it’s just,” he sighed again, “I don’t know.”

Hoya frowned at him, but decided that he didn’t want to push his friend.

“So when’s your next physiotherapy session? I can tag along if I don’t have basketball practice,” Hoya offered, scooting closer to his friend because the cafeteria was crowded and noisy.

“This Friday,” Woohyun shrugged. He didn’t even try to stop Hoya because he had been tagging along to his first two sessions. Hoya said he was curious of how physiotherapy worked and that nurses there were hot, but Woohyun knew that it was just him wanting to make sure he was okay. He felt grateful for Hoya and Dongwoo in his life as he had many friends, but none of them was like the two of them.

“I’m free, so I’ll go with you. After that, let’s hang out. Tell Dongwoo too, okay?”

“Okay,” Woohyun said, sighing as the burden from earlier was still lingering on his mind. Hoya squeezed his good shoulder as if to comfort him.

-

Friday came in a blink as he sat in a street stall with a sore shoulder from his therapy session, laughing at a lame joke Hoya told him. They spent two hours there, just talking and drinking and the next thing he knew, he was already on his way to the bus stop with Dongwoo’s arm linked around his and Hoya’s goodbye stuck in his fuzzy head.

The bus was here soon enough and Dongwoo was pulling him into the bus. Dongwoo giggled a lot when he was tipsy, not that it was unnatural for him to do so. He felt happy because it was a Friday well spent, but at the same time he also felt disappointed that there was no sight of the man he had wanted to see since their last coincidental meeting on this very same bus.

“Hyun, why are you so sad?” Dongwoo asked him, slurring. Then, Dongwoo was poking at his cheeks until his dimples showed themselves, he found himself smiling at his drunken friend.

“I’m not sad, Dongwoo,” Woohyun said, patting Dongwoo’s head as if to coax him into sleep. The man leaned his head against the window, a smile never faltering from his face.

“Wake me up when we’re home, okay?” Dongwoo told him, to which he nodded.

When the bus announced his stop, he shook his friend awake. Dongwoo was slurring and busy saying something about a letter for Woohyun. He groaned in frustration as Dongwoo refused to move from his seat. If only his shoulder was okay, he would have just lifted his friend and escaped from the stares that he was receiving from the driver and the passengers.

“Come on Dongwoo. It’s our stop. You can write me a letter when we get home, okay?” Woohyun said, patting Dongwoo awake as he tried to tug at the man’s hand.

To his surprise, Dongwoo shoved a piece of envelop into his hand. And Dongwoo was right, it was his letter, seeing how his name was written on the said envelop along with his university and program name.

“Are you two going to get down on this stop or not?” the bus driver asked impatiently.

“I’m sorry! We’re going,” Woohyun quickly said, pocketed the letter and had to pull Dongwoo out of his seat. He ignored the pain shooting through his shoulder as he half carried Dongwoo home. All he had in his mind was that letter and its content that was waiting to be read.

He literally threw Dongwoo on the couch as he took place next to him. His trembling hand took out the letter and he started to read them silently. He didn’t know what he expected, but there was still fluttery feeling in his tummy that told him it was Sunggyu who wrote that letter. And he was not wrong about that.

 

_Woohyun-ah, it’s me Sunggyu hyung. I know you were in a rush that day and we didn’t get to talk a lot. I want to apologise for that night. It was a joke, but you got hurt over it. For that, I’m sincerely sorry. I am not good at words, so my apology may seem insincere, but trust me Woohyun, I’m really really sorry for hurting you that night. Hurting you is the last thing I want to do._

_Over these four months, I had been wishing to meet you by coincidence and I wanted to say these words to you in person. But unfortunately, our last meeting was short and I was unable to say it. So, I kept thinking of how to do it – which resulted in this letter being written._

_This might be a bit too straightforward, but I don’t know how else I can say it to you._

_Woohyun-ah, can we be friends? If you’re no longer mad at me over that incident that night, please contact me through my e-mail (written inside the envelop). I will be waiting for your reply. Thank you for reading this letter, Woohyun._

_P.S: I pray for your speedy recovery._

_Best regards,_

_Sunggyu hyung :)_

Woohyun hated himself as he struggled through his tears to compose a coherent reply e-mail to Sunggyu. When he clicked ‘send’, he swore that he had never felt so relieved in his twenty-four years of living. Once again, he realised how extremely lucky he was. For everything.

-


	5. Something More

-

Woohyun’s reply email quickly escalated into frequent meet-ups at a cosy café in front of Sunggyu’s office. Woohyun would bring his laptop (and assignments) when he didn’t have classes and Sunggyu would join him at lunch time. It made Sunggyu’s boring desk job a little bit more exciting as he had something to look forward to at noon.

Sunggyu and Woohyun didn’t stay friends for long though. It was because the mutual attraction between the both of them was obvious and Sunggyu, feeling extra bold on one of their frequent, longer coffee dates on weekends, decided to ask Woohyun out. He could still remember Woohyun getting flustered, mumbling about needing some time to think about it.

Woohyun texted him exactly at midnight, finally telling Sunggyu the answer he wanted to hear. They decided to have their first official date, on the same night. They agreed to meet at Han River - a cliché spot that they didn’t know would hold so many memories of them together in the future.

Their beginning as a couple wasn’t awkward at all. It was as if they were meant to be right next to each other from the very start. The night they spent together, gazing at the stars as they held hands, ignoring the world, was probably one of the nights they shall never forget for the rest of their lives.

Woohyun and Sunggyu bid each other good night with an embrace. Their first kiss was exchanged on the very same night too, albeit shyly. They both knew they were taking another step into their newly built relationship a little too quickly, but it was okay because it felt like the right thing to do. So, when they went to sleep that night, both dreamed of the kiss that they shared, a content smile drawn beautifully on their faces at the recall of the precious moment.

-

Time passed by so fast when they were together. Each moment felt a little bit too short, leaving them to part ways with heaviness in their chest, yet it made them eager to see each other on their next date. When they realised it, they were already in the middle of celebrating their first anniversary.

Unlike other normal dates which they spent time being outdoors, they decided to stay and celebrate at Sunggyu’s house. Sunggyu ordered some nice meals from the Japanese restaurant (which was one of Woohyun’s favourites) for the occasion and Woohyun came with a bottle of red wine, a bouquet of roses in his other hand.

Sunggyu apologetically let the flushed man inside – feeling sorry that he took a while to answer the door as he was using the bathroom, taking the wine and thanking him for the roses (even before Woohyun could hand it to him). He put it aside and quickly pulled Woohyun into a hug, the younger man relaxing in his embrace.

“I’m sorry Hyun. You must be cold,” Sunggyu whispered, drawing back only to look at Woohyun’s red face. He rubbed his hands against the younger man’s cheeks, Woohyun leaning into his hands – obviously thankful for the gesture.

“Happy 1st anniversary, Gyu hyung. I love you,” Woohyun said, his voice filled with sincerity.

Tears formed in Woohyun’s eyes and Sunggyu laughed at his younger boyfriend – it was a very typical Woohyun thing as he was the type to always get touched over every little thing. Sunggyu had no complaints though. In fact, he thought it was so endearing to date, to be in love with and to be loved by someone like this. Woohyun was probably the closest thing that convinced him that adults aren’t totally corrupted and rotten.

“Yah, why are you crying again?” Sunggyu took his chance to tease Woohyun, which quickly earned him a punch to his shoulder. He stepped closer and embraced Woohyun again. The younger man continued to cry against his shoulder, wetting his shirt. Sunggyu hummed a comforting tone as he stroked the younger man’s back.

“Happy 1st anniversary too, Hyun. I’m so lucky to have you, baby. I love you so much,” Sunggyu whispered. It was his turn to feel emotional over his little confession. Quickly, he blinked his tears away and pulled away from the hug. Sunggyu thumbed away Woohyun’s tears and cupped his face. Leaning closer and closer, Woohyun met his lips halfway and they kissed languidly.

Sunggyu intertwined his fingers with Woohyun’s, his other hand protectively wrapped around his waist. The smallest motion in Woohyun’s fingers made him frown into the kiss. He cupped the younger man’s face and detached their lips. Woohyun looked disappointed for a second before growing wary of the sudden frown on Sunggyu’s face.

“Hyung? Are you alright?” Woohyun asked, trying to think of possible things he did that might upset his boyfriend.

“You’re going to be the death of me Nam Woohyun, I swear,” Sunggyu said in a frustrated tone as he started dragging Woohyun to the kitchen.

“Gyu hyung…are you mad at me?” Woohyun asked, his voice cracked and thick with tears again. If there was anything that he couldn’t stand in this world, it was making people upset with him.

Sunggyu, on the other hand, disliked a lot of things, but the two things that he couldn’t tolerate were when people lie to him and when Woohyun skipped or didn’t eat his meal. Like right now. Even by holding Woohyun’s hand, he knew the younger man had probably skipped his lunch earlier and god-knows that he might have skipped breakfast too. And it made Sunggyu so angry every time it happened because the younger man had a tendency to get low blood pressure.

He could still feel the tremors in Woohyun’s hands even after he made the younger man eat a whole block of chocolate bar. Woohyun, however, was unable to meet Sunggyu’s eyes. He knew it was his fault. He had no reason this time. He simply had forgotten to eat and no one was around to remind him.

Looking at the younger man’s expression, Sunggyu felt guilty for snapping at him earlier. It was supposed to be their happy day, but instead he scolded his boyfriend.

“Hyun, hey look at me,” Sunggyu pleaded as Woohyun still kept his head down, biting his lips to stop himself from crying (again), “I’m sorry okay? I know I shouldn’t snap at you, baby. But you know I’m just so, so worried. Thank God you’re with me and I realise it quick. Imagine if you were out there and you passed out somewhere? God, I can’t even imagine it, it’s too painful for me. So please, please promise me that you’ll take care of yourself and your meals, okay baby?”

Woohyun didn’t say anything. Instead, he got up from his chair and walked to Sunggyu, hugging his boyfriend.

“I’m sorry, Gyu hyung. I’m really sorry,” Woohyun muttered. Sunggyu returned the hug, feeling relieved that he didn’t just start a fight as that was how their conversations about Woohyun’s condition would always lead to.

“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.”

-


	6. Deep in Thoughts

-

The smell of delicious kimchi stew from the kitchen was the first thing that greeted Woohyun when he stepped foot into Sunggyu’s house – now their shared home since Sunggyu asked him to move in just six months after their first anniversary. Woohyun would have gone straight into Sunggyu’s personal space, back-hugging him, but instead he dragged his feet and went straight into their shared bedroom. He let out a huge sigh as soon as his body hit the bed, closing his eyes.

Sunggyu noticed his boyfriend’s entrance, a small smile tugged at his lips as he waited for the usual back-hug he would receive from the younger. His smile turned into a frown as the younger man never came. He turned around and found the living room empty. His stomach dropped for the very obvious reasons. Turning off the stove, he wiped his hand on the kitchen towel and briskly made his way to his room.

He contemplated on knocking, but decided against it as he pushed the door open; revealing Woohyun lying on the bed, face down. Woohyun felt the bed dip next to him and soon his boyfriend’s familiar hands caressing his back. He felt like crying.

“You okay, baby?” Sunggyu asked, now massaging Woohyun’s tense shoulders. He couldn’t see Woohyun’s face from here, but he had a feeling that the younger man was probably near tears.

Woohyun managed a nod, not trusting his voice to speak. He wanted Sunggyu to leave him alone, but at the same time he wanted him to stay and comfort him.

“Get some sleep. I’ll wake you up in half an hour for dinner, is that alright?” Sunggyu said and once again, Woohyun could only nod.

Sunggyu stood up and before he left the room, he pressed his lips gently on Woohyun’s cheek. He still couldn’t see his boyfriend’s face fully, but the wetness on his lips made his heart ache, especially because he didn’t know what was bothering his boyfriend.

Woohyun let out the sob that he had been holding back when he heard the door close behind Sunggyu. He curled into a foetal position, hugging his knees as he recalled the conversation he had with his parents earlier.

_“You know I’m not against you and Sunggyu dating, right baby? So, what’s up with the sudden marriage talk? It’s not that…” His mother tried to coax him._

_Woohyun went to his parents’ house to have lunch together. He came because he had something to ask his parents. It had been months since he thought about proposing to Sunggyu, but he knew he had to ask for his parents’ blessing. They were very supportive when he came out to them back in high school. He had never thought that his mother would strongly oppose him getting married._

_“I know we can’t get married here…or that a gay marriage isn’t the norm here, but mom…”_

_“Baby, listen to me okay? There’s nothing wrong to be in love with another man. I understand that people have their own preferences and you don’t choose who you fall in love with. But I can’t bear the thought of you getting ostracized by the society if they know. Dating is okay, but marriage is a huge deal, honey. Everything will be official and it will be on paper and on record and I don’t want bad things to happen to you two if other people ever find out about it.”_

_“They don’t have to know. Plus, we won’t even get married here…not that we can,” Woohyun whispered, biting his lower lip. His heart had already broken into pieces at her first rejection and now it was completely smashed after hearing her reasons. He understood her concerns and the weight of the decision he wanted to take with Sunggyu._

_“Hey, I don’t mean anything bad, baby. I’m just worried. Just date for now, okay? It’s not that much different anyway. Just do whatever couples do without the marrying each other part, of course.”_

_Woohyun nodded and continued to eat in silence. His head was hung low throughout their lunch. Even until he was about to part ways with his parents, he couldn’t bring himself to meet his mother’s eyes._

\--

Sunggyu bit his lips as he stared at the clock. He had five minutes before the clock hit the 30-minute mark he had set earlier. He drummed his fingers on the sofa and waited, thinking about possible things that could have made his boyfriend upset. Sunggyu was about to do a mental cheer as the clock hit 7 when his phone went off.

Sighing, he reached for his phone and his eyes went wide at the caller ID. He cleared his throat and slid the green button.

“Hello! Good evening omeonim!” he said in his most cheerful voice.

He should have known something was up from the moment he picked up the call from Woohyun’s mother. The woman’s anxiety could almost be felt through the line.

“Sunggyu-yah, is Woohyun already home?” she asked, with a tinge of fear in her voice.

“Yeah, he came home around an hour ago. Why omeonim? Do you want to talk to him?” Sunggyu asked, frowning as he was starting to connect the dots.

“Ah, nothing. I’m just worried that he might have gone somewhere after he had lunch with us this afternoon. You know that kid and his tendency to wander around, right? It’s a relief that he went straight home. Take care, Sunggyu-yah. And take care of Woohyunnie too.”

And the line went dead yet Sunggyu’s mind was racing. _What the fuck happened?_

\--

Waking Woohyun up had never been so hard for Sunggyu. He literally had to drag the younger man to the kitchen, nagging about his unhealthy habits of skipping his meals. Now Woohyun was seated in front of him, the sleepiness was still evident on his face; Sunggyu wished he was next to his boyfriend instead.

Woohyun’s eyes were swollen and he was nodding off at the table again. If it wasn’t for the sadness lingering in his face, Sunggyu would have found the entire situation adorable and endearing (not that he didn’t find Woohyun adorable and endearing all the freaking time).

“Hyun, wake up,” Sunggyu nudged the younger man’s leg with his foot.

Woohyun just grunted in response and buried his face in his arms, losing the fight to stay awake. Sunggyu sighed as he went to sit next to Woohyun.

“You just want me to baby you, right?” Sunggyu nagged, pulling Woohyun to rest his head on his shoulder. Then, he started feeding the younger man.

“Yah, open your eyes. You’re gonna choke like this,” Sunggyu lightly scolded Woohyun.

The younger man opened his eyes and pouted, but remained in his position on Sunggyu’s shoulder.

“Did something happen?” Sunggyu asked, wiping a rice stuck on Woohyun’s lower lip.

Woohyun’s expression changed as he finally sat properly. He chewed on his bottom lip, nervous. He knew Sunggyu would probably be disappointed in him as he chose to face his parents alone.

“Hey, don’t tell me now if you’re not okay with it, alright? Come, eat with your hand. I wanna eat my dinner too,” Sunggyu said playfully, nudging Woohyun with his elbow to snap the younger man out of his trance.

“Ah, sorry. Here, let me feed you,” Woohyun offered, displaying a shy, guilty smile at his boyfriend.

“I’m not a kid like you,” Sunggyu teased, poking at the corner at Woohyun’s lips until a full smile with his cute dimples appeared.

“That’s my baby,” Sunggyu whispered, fond.

-


	7. What Couples Do

-

Their typical Saturday consisted of Woohyun lying in Sunggyu’s lap reading his novel of the week while Sunggyu absently played with his hair as he watched his usual weekend morning cartoon after they had their breakfast together. Sometimes they did their laundry together too. It’s cliché and some people perceived this kind of couple things as being clingy, but Woohyun and Sunggyu loved their couple-y routines and activities, especially since they didn’t get to spend as much time as they wanted during weekdays, thanks to the nature of Sunggyu’s work. Woohyun was often home alone, who had yet to find himself a job despite having graduated six months ago. It gave them more reasons to spend every waking hours together on the weekend.

Sunggyu’s cartoon ended and he couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to the current show they were airing on the TV; instead he stared down at his younger boyfriend in his lap. Woohyun looked serious, his reading glass placed perfectly on his straight nose bridge. There was a frown in between his eyebrows and Sunggyu’s expression started to mirror Woohyun’s, wondering what exactly he was reading at the moment. It made Sunggyu’s heart ache a little and when he realised it; his lips were already on Woohyun’s forehead, kissing the space between his neat eyebrows, in hope that it would take away his frown. 

Woohyun let out a startled gasp; his eyes that met Sunggyu’s were twinkling with curiosity. Sunggyu lowered his head once again and started to pepper kisses along Woohyun’s nose before he captured Woohyun’s lips in a brief yet breathtaking kiss. A pleasured moan left Woohyun’s lips and it made Sunggyu want to kiss him more.

“Why?” Woohyun’s question came a bit late, it was soft, barely audible and it was filled with shyness. Sunggyu almost squeezed his younger boyfriend for being so adorable.

“Do I need a reason to kiss my boyfriend now?” Sunggyu answered, but knowing that Woohyun wouldn’t settle for that as an answer, he explained, “You were frowning, baby. What happened? Is the story sad?”

Woohyun blushed deeply at his question, to Sunggyu’s surprise. When the younger man explained which part he was reading, Sunggyu had to bite into his fist so that he wouldn’t laugh at his boyfriend’s never-ending adorableness.

“Why are you so cute, Woohyun?” Sunggyu said, still laughing softly that he didn’t even register the weight on his lap was gone as Woohyun finally sat up.

It should be illegal how Woohyun looked so endearing in his oversized pink sweater and his messy hair for lying down all morning. Woohyun was pouting subconsciously to the constant teasing from his boyfriend, who was still wondering how Woohyun could frown while reading an m-rated part of the novel. Sunggyu grabbed the back of Woohyun’s head, pulling him towards his chest as he massaged his head gently.

“Stop laughing at me, hyung,” Woohyun mumbled against Sunggyu’s chest.

It was obvious how Woohyun tried to appear sulky; however, his hands which were loosely wrapped around Sunggyu’s waist defeated his intention.

“Okay, I’ll stop, alright. God, I love you so much, Woohyun,” Sunggyu whispered sweetly as he gently kissed the crown of Woohyun’s head. He received a mumbled ‘I love you too’ as a reply before the living room fell into a comfortable silence with light snoring as the background music.

-

A normal dinner coupled with a few glasses of wine led to this: Sunggyu carrying Woohyun to bed, engaging Woohyun in a passionate open-mouthed kiss, his eager hands touching and feeling every part of Woohyun that made his own arousal grow. Every single moan and whimper from Woohyun drove Sunggyu crazy. He sucked and nibbled at the younger man’s collarbones, impatient to move down south and to kiss every single patch of Woohyun’s being. Woohyun’s sweatshirt was gone in a blink of an eye, his normally pale skin had turned red from the pleasure Sunggyu gave him.

Sunggyu’s lips was about to travel south, towards his perky nipples when Woohyun cupped his face and brought Sunggyu’s lips to meet his needy ones. And then they were back to square one. Every time Sunggyu tried to move downwards, Woohyun would pull him back up, demanding a kiss from him. Sunggyu didn’t have any problem with kissing Woohyun. He loved his lover’s plump, red lips, but it also left him frustrated that they had never moved past the make-out stage even after two years of dating.

“Let me touch you, Woohyun,” Sunggyu whispered against Woohyun’s lips.

The regret that came with his carelessness was instant as Woohyun’s lips were gone and his hands were gently pushing Sunggyu off his body.

“Baby?” Sunggyu called out, trying to make out Woohyun’s expression (though it was futile as the younger man had his back turned on Sunggyu).

“I need a moment,” Woohyun said – barely audible. Then, he stood up and exited the room. Sunggyu’s sigh filled the empty room, knowing that his sorry was unheard and a little too late; and Woohyun wouldn’t come back to sleep in the same bed as him that night.

-

Woohyun drank a glass of ice water to cool down his overheated body. His racing heart, however, was helpless. It ached for a number of reasons, reasons that he refused to count because it made him feel weak and also guilty for denying his boyfriend. This was the part of _do what couples do_ that he couldn’t commit to – The reason why he was in a tormented state of mind for months, especially after he met his parents to ask for their blessings to get married to Sunggyu.

He walked to the living room and lied in a fetal position, hugging his own body as if to comfort himself, knowing that he couldn’t bring himself to go back to their shared bedroom. His heart throbbed at the thought of hurting Sunggyu every single time he rejected his advance, every single time he was unable to fulfill what a normal person craved from their loved one – intimacy. Woohyun bit back his sobs, knowing that he had no right to cry. So, he slept with his tears half dried at the corner of his eyes.

Sunggyu walked soundlessly to the living room, unable to fall asleep after what happened. He felt a pang in his heart when he saw Woohyun’s pitiful state. Crouching down next to his boyfriend on the sofa, he pushed Woohyun’s silky locks away from his face. His thumb traced the tears at the corner of Woohyun’s eyes, his lips whispering his sorry over and over again though he knew Woohyun wouldn’t hear it as he was away from reality, in his dreamland where Sunggyu couldn’t touch or protect him.

“Come back to me, baby,” Sunggyu whispered, placing a soft kiss on Woohyun’s cheeks.

He stood up, towering over Woohyun. If it was like other days, he usually would blanket Woohyun and let him sleep in the living room to give him the space he needed. Tonight was different as Sunggyu carefully lifted Woohyun and carried him back to the room. He spooned Woohyun from behind, caressing his sleeping boyfriend’s chest, right above his beating heart. Sunggyu knew sleep won’t come to him that night, but at least he wanted to make sure that the heart that he won two years ago would continue beating.

-

Woohyun let out another forlorn sigh; Hoya had lost track of how many times his friend sighed tonight. After their futsal session, he agreed to send Woohyun back home and the man had asked him to stay for a coffee (though Woohyun was having a tea at the moment). Judging from the bags under Woohyun’s eyes, he was half-expecting his friend to go into a long rant about the problems that were keeping him awake at night.

But then again, Hoya knew Woohyun. He never really talked about his problems, unless Sunggyu was the person who coaxed him into telling.

“Hey,” Hoya said, nudging at Woohyun’s side.

“Oh, hey,” Woohyun said, his delayed response seemed to break whatever trance he was having.

When Woohyun turned around to face him, his eyes were already glossy. Hoya’s expression softened at that.

“Come here,” Hoya whispered, spreading his arms to welcome Woohyun.

But his friend’s expression hardened a little and he started to back away. Hoya was not having any of it as he quickly pulled Woohyun into his embrace. It wasn’t hard at all, especially since Woohyun wasn’t putting up a fight. Woohyun shuddered in his embrace, his hand steadily stroking the man’s back comfortingly.

“Don’t keep it to yourself, Hyun. We’re always here to listen. I’m here. You don’t always have to be strong,” Hoya murmured.

He was glad that they were alone in the house. If Sunggyu somehow came home to see the two of them hugging like this, he would never see the end of it. The older man was especially protective and almost territorial when it came to Woohyun. He thought about all the possible things that could be bothering Woohyun. His friend hadn’t been behaving like himself for a while, causing both him and Dongwoo to constantly worry about him.

“Wait,” Hoya said, detaching Woohyun from his embrace as he held onto his friend’s shoulders, “Does this have anything to do with Sunggyu? God, of course it does. What did he do? Did he hurt you?”

Woohyun quickly wiped his tears and shook his head in strong denial. “No, of course not. How could you say that?” Woohyun hissed, obviously offended by Hoya’s accusation that his boyfriend would deliberately hurt him. “He loves me,” Woohyun added, talking more to himself than Hoya.

“Okay, then what’s wrong? You are always distracted and you look like you haven’t slept for months. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? When was the last time you had a proper meal, Woohyun? And Sunggyu is okay with all of these? All of these changes in you? Did he even realise that you’re having a hard time?”

Woohyun finally snapped as he stood up with clear hurt and anger in his eyes. Hoya was lying if he said he wasn’t surprised with the strong reaction. Woohyun was always the calmer one between their circle of friends. Seeing him lose his cool like this made Hoya think that he must have hit home or a sore topic.

“If you’re here just to insult my boyfriend, then you can leave Hoya. I appreciate you wanting to help, but I won’t stand this. Please leave before I say even more hurtful words you don’t want to hear,” Woohyun said, finality rang in his voice.

He made his way to the door and opened it for his friend. Hoya gathered his things and stopped in front of Woohyun to apologise if he went overboard with his accusation. And just like that he was gone.

Woohyun’s legs gave away as they had no strength to support him. He felt drained and all he wanted to do was to curl in bed and cry. But he pocketed his phone instead and sent a text to Hoya.

 

To: Hoya

I’m sorry :(

 

Hoya’s reply came almost in an instant.

 

To: Woohyun

No, I’m sorry. I hope we can talk tomorrow

 

Woohyun sent an ‘ok’ before letting his phone drop on the carpeted floor. He hugged his knees close, wishing that Sunggyu was home instead.

\--

 

Sunggyu’s head was in a mess. He didn’t want to go home in this state. He thought about Woohyun. He thought about the workload he had to face every day at the office. Every day he dreaded going to the company and at the same time, he dreaded going home because he knew that one of these days he would lose his patience and hurt Woohyun. But couldn’t Woohyun see that he was hurting too?

So, Sunggyu downed a glass after another in order to forget. The soju bottles kept piling up on the table. He was alone. The bartender kept asking him if he wanted more. Of course he wanted more. That was until he felt the seat next to him being occupied.

“I think that’s enough for tonight, Kim,” Dongwoo said, addressing the bartender. When he left them alone, Sunggyu whined childishly at his empty glass.

“Okay, let’s get you home gentleman,” Dongwoo said, helping Sunggyu on his feet.

Despite his protests, Sunggyu let Dongwoo pull him out of the bar. Dongwoo shook his head at the mess that was Sunggyu.

“Woohyun would be heartbroken if he saw you like this, Sunggyu hyung,” Dongwoo whispered, shaking his head in disappointment.

“No…don’t tell Woohyunnie,” Sunggyu said, hiccupping as he continued to say and giggle in between his words. “That baby doesn’t like it when I drink…but Dongwoo-yah, I have to drink or else this,” he pointed to his chest and started hitting it, “would really hurt and die.”

Sunggyu started feeling nauseous. He left Dongwoo’s side – the man had been supporting him from the moment they stepped foot outside of the bar – and puked on the sidewalk. Dongwoo bowed and apologised to the passerby who were giving Sunggyu disapproving looks.

“Are you feeling better now, hyung?” Dongwoo asked; patting Sunggyu’s back.

“Dongwoo-yah…I think,” Sunggyu’s expression looked painful as he prepared himself to say more, “Woohyun and I aren’t working out.”

Hearing that, Dongwoo could only sigh. He decided to pull Sunggyu to sit down at the bench in nearest playground he could find. Looking at Sunggyu’s condition, he knew he had to play the counselor this time, especially since he had an idea of what exactly the problem was.

“I mean, I know I didn’t date him for his body, but what kind of men who don’t want to be intimate with their lovers? I am normal for wanting that, right? Am I wrong, Dongwoo-yah? At first I tried to be understanding, thinking that maybe he wasn’t ready to take it our relationship to the next step. But he kept rejecting me. He won’t even let me touch him properly. It makes me feel insecure. What if Woohyun doesn’t want me as much as I want him? Is that why he keeps refusing to have sex with me? Tell me, Dongwoo because I don’t understand. And it hurts. It hurts so much especially because I know it’s bothering him. _I’m_ bothering him. I’m afraid, Dongwoo. I feel like an asshole that keeps hurting him,” Sunggyu cried.

Dongwoo sighed for the umpteenth time. He knew that tonight was going to be a long night.

-

Sunggyu was already sober when Dongwoo safely dropped him at home. His tears were dried while his heart was still hurting – hurt from the revelation from Dongwoo. He felt like the world’s biggest asshole. He came back to their house and his heart broke even more at the sight of Woohyun sleeping with his head against the sofa, his arms wrapped around his knees. The man looked so frail and only now Sunggyu saw the suffering that had taken a toll on his body, thin and fragile.

He quickly approached the sleeping man, kneeling down next to Woohyun before engulfing him in a hug. Then, Sunggyu willed himself to cry again as he replayed the past that Dongwoo had told him – the unknown past that Woohyun kept a secret from him, the pain that Sunggyu wished he shared like the countless of things they shared together.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m sorry I didn’t know.”

When he laid Woohyun in his arms that night, he made up his mind. He had never seriously thought about it before, especially with his hectic job and sometimes unstable finance, but that night Sunggyu decided that he was going to ask Woohyun to be lawfully and officially his, forever.

“I won’t make you wait any longer, Woohyun. I promise you I won’t.”

-


	8. A Better Day

-

Sunggyu married Woohyun in a nice ceremony held in a small chapel located in the suburb of Italy. They took one year, going through a series of struggles in convincing Woohyun’s mother that the marriage was not going to do them any harm. They almost broke up right after Sunggyu’s proposal, Woohyun initiating the break up because he couldn’t let Sunggyu suffer any longer as he was unable to fully give himself to their relationship. However, Sunggyu held on, convincing Woohyun that they could do this together, that they would convince Woohyun’s mother to give her blessing and Sunggyu was still going to marry him no matter what. Woohyun was grateful that he let himself be comforted by Sunggyu that night, that he let Sunggyu hold him and never let go of him. He couldn’t imagine a life without Sunggyu.

As they stared into each other’s eyes, the words ‘I do’ ringing in their ears, the short kiss that followed was probably the most emotional kiss that they shared. It wasn’t just any other kiss. It was the kiss that symbolized and marked their union, their spirits bound together for life. Both grooms were glowing with happiness, surrounded by their closest friends and family members. It was purely a blissful day.

Their first night together as lawfully wedded spouses was spent sleepless. They held each other close, eyes locked as they talked in hushed whispers. Though Sunggyu already knew the story of Woohyun’s past, he let Woohyun completely open up to him that night. Sunggyu listened attentively to Woohyun telling a part of his past that he wished he could get over.

After so many years, Woohyun finally talked about his trauma and insecurity. Woohyun once had a boyfriend back when he was a senior in high school. They dated for one year before they decided that they were ready to take their relationship to the next stage. So, they rented a motel on their first anniversary and spent the night together. However, Woohyun found himself waking up to an empty bed the next morning. He called out for his boyfriend, thinking that he probably was in the bathroom. That was when Woohyun discovered a small note on the nightstand from his boyfriend telling him that he didn’t love Woohyun anymore and that they were breaking up.

Woohyun’s world crashed and the next moment he realised he was trembling badly, never feeling so scared and alone in his life. He didn’t exactly remember what happened next, but he remembered Dongwoo was the one who found him and brought him to his house. Woohyun was too heartbroken and traumatised that he couldn’t speak for weeks, scaring his parents. His parents finally brought him to the doctor and despite everyone not knowing what exactly happened to Woohyun, he was diagnosed with a post-traumatic stress disorder.

The pleasures from that night turned into nightmares. He started to avoid human contact because being close to people made him feel nervous. It took him almost six months of therapies to finally be convinced that maintaining a close relationship with people won’t result in them leaving him. Woohyun was a little better after he went to university. He never actually dated again until Sunggyu happened to him. He only told Dongwoo about what happened between him and his ex-boyfriend.

Sunggyu pulled his husband close, kissing away his tears and let the silence comfort them both. He tried to be the stronger one and not let himself cry as Woohyun relived his awful memories right before his eyes, knowing how much his tears would upset Woohyun even more. However, he couldn’t hold back the few tears that slipped from his eyes, hugging Woohyun even closer so that he couldn’t see how much Woohyun’s pain affected him too. The guilt from a year ago, of not understanding Woohyun more, stabbed in his chest even until today, and tonight the guilt worsened especially after seeing how vulnerable Woohyun still was from that particular event in his past.

“H-Hyung?” Woohyun’s teary eyes looked up, catching Sunggyu off guard. It was too late to brush away the tears at the corner of his eyes and on his cheeks, Woohyun had already seen it. It was quick how Woohyun’s expression changed, as he expected, his tears had upset his husband even more.

“I’m sorry,” Woohyun whispered, burying his face on Sunggyu’s chest again. His shoulders trembled in Sunggyu’s hold and it just broke his heart even more.

“Hey, why are you sorry? You’re not at fault, baby. Come on, it’s okay. Don’t feel bad,” Sunggyu murmured in Woohyun’s eyes, patting his back gently until the trembles in his body lessened a bit.

Woohyun mumbled something against Sunggyu’s chest and Sunggyu had to pull the younger man back so he could see his husband’s face.

“What did you say?” Sunggyu asked, frowning.

“I’m sorry,” Woohyun looked down, biting his lips and there was a considerable flush in his cheeks, “that I made you cry, hyung.”

Sunggyu broke into soft laughter which earned him a painful smack across his chest. He cuddled Woohyun closer and squeezed the slightly shorter man in his arms.

“You’re so adorable, oh God,” Sunggyu laughed, taking more slaps as he closed his eyes to take in the cuteness of Woohyun’s whimpers.

Sunggyu cupped Woohyun’s cheek, thumbing it gently as he slowly leaned in and tentatively captured Woohyun’s lips. Woohyun felt his stomach flutter in happiness when their lips connected softly, his hand instinctively grabbing the back of Sunggyu’s head, giving his soft locks a gentle tug. Sunggyu smiled against Woohyun’s plump lips, noticing the return of Woohyun’s habit of tugging at his hair. He used to tease Woohyun a lot for it, saying that one day he’s going to be the reason why he’s balding at such a young age. Woohyun would often feel bad afterwards and try his best to lessen the habit, which in Sunggyu’s opinion was so fucking endearing. Because of this, Sunggyu would often initiate it, bringing Woohyun’s hand to his hair, letting his old habit resurface and still teased him afterwards. And the cycle started again.  

Woohyun couldn’t hold himself back, tugging at his husband’s hair as if that could make Sunggyu press closer, kissing him deeper. His heart throbbed at the soft moan that left Sunggyu’s lips. This kind of intimacy was new to him. Despite the fact that they had kissed countless of times before, this felt different. Especially with the way Sunggyu tentatively touched him in places that sent shivers all over his body. He felt hot all over and he couldn’t help but to want more, more intimate touches. The touches that he used to be so scared of. His mind was screaming, warning him, telling him to stop before he got hurt once again, but his heart just simply craved the touch of Sunggyu, his lawfully-wedded husband now.

Sunggyu stopped kissing and nibbling on Woohyun’s neck when he heard the younger man whimper. Pushing himself off Woohyun’s body as he supported his body next to the younger man, he saw Woohyun’s face. The man looked like he was battling some sort of inner emotions fight within himself and it just broke Sunggyu’s heart to see him like that. It was gentle; almost feather light, when Sunggyu placed the back of his fingers on Woohyun’s cheek. Then, he softly caressed Woohyun’s cheek until the eyes that were scrunched close fluttered open again.

Woohyun’s breath was caught in his chest when he met Sunggyu’s concerned eyes. His lips parted slightly, in attempt to say something, to take away the frown in between Sunggyu’s brows, but nothing came out. It frustrated him when he saw the frown deepen, though the touch on his cheek remained, gentle and so comforting. He was so close to let his eyes flutter shut again, to enjoy and relish in the calming gesture of his husband, but instead, he held the hand that was caressing his cheek and watched Sunggyu’s expression shift. Woohyun leaned into the touch and held Sunggyu’s gaze as he whispered the next thing that made Sunggyu the happiest man alive.

“P-Please…touch me.”

-


	9. New Environment

-

Woohyun sniffled for the umpteenth time, wiping the tears that kept forming in his eyes with his sleeve. Despite this, his face remained focused as he continued to cut the onions with a determined expression. He glanced at the clock worriedly, afraid that Sunggyu would return home any time soon. He always hated it when Sunggyu returned home and there was no food on the dining table especially because he knew his husband was super tired from his work. Sometimes he forgot to prepare dinner because he was too engrossed in his novel or watching his favourite show, and that was also the indication that he had forgotten to eat all day which in turn resulted in him getting a light scolding from Sunggyu. Those nights were the colder ones, where they slept a bit farther apart, backs turned on each other.

In today’s case, Woohyun fell asleep because he took some pills for his headache and when he woke up, he panicked as he saw that it was already 6.30pm, which meant Sunggyu would return any time soon. So, he frustratingly tried his best to speed up his pace, but the onions were his enemy. Usually it was Sunggyu who peeled and cut the onions while he prepared for other ingredients. Woohyun sniffled again and squeezed his eyes shut to get rid of the burning sensation in them. He started fanning his teary eyes when it got too overwhelming, snots starting to come out of his nose.

“Ah…” he whimpered hopelessly, unable to touch his eyes because he knew it would make things worse. He stood up and tried to make his way to the kitchen sink, but Woohyun unfortunately hit his leg on the dining table. He whimpered in pain again.

In the midst of Woohyun panicking because he got onions juice in his eyes, he didn’t realise Sunggyu making his way into the house. Sunggyu almost laughed seeing Woohyun’s reaction to cutting onions, knowing how extra sensitive he was to onions. He was about to surprise his husband when Woohyun hit his leg on the table. That was when he quickly dropped his bag and rushed to Woohyun’s side. His heart throbbed when Woohyun visibly flinched at his touch, surprised.

“H-Hyung…” Woohyun whimpered, as he caught a whiff of Sunggyu’s familiar cologne.

Sunggyu wrapped his arm around Woohyun’s waist and brought him to the sink. Woohyun obediently followed and let Sunggyu help him clean his eyes from the onion juice. Woohyun kept squeezing his eyes tight when Sunggyu applied some water on his eyes.

“Yah, open your eyes a bit. How do we rinse out the onion juice then?” Sunggyu lightly scolded Woohyun, which left him to whimper pathetically, but still followed his husband’s instruction. Sunggyu chuckled at Woohyun’s adorableness, subconsciously rubbing the back of his head as he continued to rinse Woohyun’s eyes with water.

Sunggyu then tugged at Woohyun’s hand and guided him to their bedroom. Woohyun whimpered several times when he hit his legs on the dining table (again) and on the sofa on their way to the bedroom. That was when Sunggyu noticed that Woohyun still had his eyes close.

“Woohyun-ah, you’re going to fall like this. Open your eyes. It’s okay,” Sunggyu said in a gentle voice.

“But my eyes still hurt, Sunggyu hyung,” Woohyun whined.

Sunggyu’s expression softened at that. Woohyun rarely behaved like this, but when he did, it meant that he had missed him all day.

“Aigoo, my big baby,” Sunggyu muttered fondly, touching the back of Woohyun’s head again before pulling him close, the slightly shorter man stuck to his side under his armpit in a heartbeat.

Sunggyu guided Woohyun to sit on the bed before he went to fetch a new towel. He sat next to Woohyun, the younger man’s legs in between his as he started to gently wipe Woohyun’s eyes dry, blowing warm air onto his face.

“Do you feel better now? Can you open your eyes? Try it, hyung wants to see your pretty eyes,” Sunggyu coaxed his husband.

Woohyun blushed at the sudden praise as he slowly opened his eyes. When he did, Sunggyu almost regretted it. Woohyun’s eyes were still teary and red, staring at him like a harmless, sad puppy. Sunggyu instinctively cupped Woohyun’s face, the gesture made Woohyun lean into his palm, rubbing his cheek against Sunggyu’s hand as he kept his red eyes fixed on Sunggyu’s eyes. Sunggyu brought their faces close, gently brushing his nose against Woohyun’s before slowly pressing their lips together.

When their lips touched, Woohyun’s hand immediately flew to wrap it around Sunggyu’s neck, pulling his husband closer. He couldn’t stop the whine of protest from spilling when Sunggyu’s lips left his and started kissing the corner of his lips, then his cheeks before he made way to pepper small kisses on Woohyun’s eyelids over and over again. Both of them weren’t even aware of the position change, as when Sunggyu finally leaned back to take in Woohyun’s flushed face, only then he realised that he had tackled Woohyun under his body.

Woohyun responsively shuddered when Sunggyu started stroking his cheek again, expecting the kiss that would surely come. However, he was left disappointed when Sunggyu’s weight above him was gone. He stared at the ceiling, breathless.

“Hyung?” Woohyun called out after a moment. When there was no response from Sunggyu, he couldn’t stop his heart from constricting painfully. He curled himself into a foetal position and willed himself not to cry.

He hated himself for feeling like this, for constantly feeling the insecurity that Sunggyu could leave him any time soon. He knew that when they got married, it won’t immediately heal him, but still he was hopeful. He was hopeful that the bond they shared would somehow forever tie them together, preventing Sunggyu from leaving him. He was hopeful that he would get better. But it was still the same. Every day he woke up feeling scared that Sunggyu won’t be there next to him, only to feel relieved that his husband was snuggling close to his body all along. _If only I am strong enough to get better…_

“Baby! Hey, hey, it’s alright. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, baby,” Sunggyu whispered in Woohyun’s ears as he gathered his whimpering husband in his embrace. Then, he rocked their bodies together, in hope that it would comfort Woohyun like it usually did.

Sunggyu suddenly regretted leaving Woohyun in the middle of their moment, sometimes forgetting how incredibly sensitive Woohyun was, especially with his condition. He only left the younger man’s side for a while to quickly order some food because he saw the tell-tale sign that Woohyun’s blood sugar level was low, knowing that he probably had skipped his lunch (again).

“I just went to order some food, baby. It’s okay, Hyun,” Sunggyu muttered softly, stroking Woohyun’s back. He waited for a few minutes until Woohyun’s breathing was steady again before he held both of Woohyun’s cheeks in his hands and made the younger man look at him in the eyes.

“I won’t ever leave, okay? Do you trust me, baby?” Sunggyu asked, to which Woohyun quickly nodded.

“Say something,” Sunggyu muttered, brushing his nose against Woohyun’s.

“I love you, Sunggyu,” Woohyun whispered, “and I’m sorry I’m like this.”

Sunggyu’s heart clenched painfully. He quickly embraced Woohyun, telling him over and over again that he didn’t have to apologise for feeling insecure like that and that he understood and he wanted to make Woohyun feel better. He also told Woohyun how sorry he was for not thinking how his small action could really hurt him.

Woohyun, not wanting to hear Sunggyu apologising for something that wasn’t even his fault to begin with, quickly shut his husband up by capturing his lips, taking Sunggyu by surprise. Sunggyu responded to Woohyun’s kiss with an equal passion, wordlessly convincing the younger man that he felt the same.

“I love you too, baby,” Sunggyu whispered back, “but now let’s get you something to eat, okay?”

“Okay,” Woohyun said, earning him another peck from his husband.

-

Exactly two months into their marriage, Sunggyu returned home bearing good news. Woohyun also had good news to be shared with his husband. In fact, he had been waiting all day to tell Sunggyu about it. Right when he greeted Sunggyu at the door, his husband hugged him and started jumping around like a little kid. It brought a smile to his face as Sunggyu rarely acted like a child; it was usually him as he was the younger one.

“Hyung, I can’t breathe,” Woohyun said breathlessly, though he managed to giggle a moment after. Sunggyu finally let him go.

“Why are you so happy? What’s the great news?” Woohyun asked, couldn’t help but to feel equally excited.

Sunggyu pulled Woohyun to sit down on the couch in their living room and held both of his hands. Woohyun was starting to feel nervous about this.

“Hyun, we’re moving,” Sunggyu said excitedly before elaborating, “I applied a loan before our wedding and it just recently got approved and I bought this house, it’s bigger than this one. I’m sure you’re going to like it. It’s a nice neighbourhood and the house has a spacious front yard.”

“That’s great!” Woohyun said enthusiastically. “Hyung, I also have something to tell…” he trailed off as Sunggyu started to excitedly talk about how he had gotten an offer from this law firm near their new house and that he was going to start working there next month, which was in two weeks. So, they had time to complete their moving process in these two weeks. Woohyun had never seen Sunggyu so happy.

Then, it hit him. Sunggyu was a graduate from Law School. It made sense that he was so happy and excited to finally work in his field. He was so happy for his husband, but at the same time, there was this weird feeling in his chest, something that was close to sadness, but he just couldn’t pinpoint what exactly the feeling was.

“Hyun? Are you okay?” Sunggyu asked; his face filled with concern.

“Ah, I’m okay. I’m just imagining how the house looks like. Where is it by the way?” Woohyun asked, putting on his happy face again.

“It’s just outside Seoul. The houses are pretty cheap there, it’s amazing,” Sunggyu exclaimed.

“Great then! So, when are we moving, hyung?” Woohyun asked, even though he was dreading the answer.

“Oh, the moving truck and helpers will come this Friday. I took Thursday and Friday off, so we can pack our stuff. God, isn’t this great? I know you’ve always wanted a bigger house, especially one with a yard. And I’ve checked, our neighbours are mostly families with younger children. I’m sure you’ll love the kids.”

“Yeah…” Woohyun trailed off, looking like he was thinking of something. Sunggyu was about to ask him what’s wrong when Woohyun quickly tugged him towards the kitchen, saying that they should have dinner while the food was still warm.

Dinner was unbearably quiet and awkward, but Sunggyu couldn’t even bring himself to ask Woohyun if he was not satisfied with the good news. It was only when they were already in bed, Woohyun all cuddled up so closely to him that he remembered Woohyun had said he also had good news to share with Sunggyu. But remembering the younger man’s quietness and sullen mood during dinner time, it made Sunggyu think of the possibility that Woohyun was angry with him, for some unknown reasons.

‘Was he unhappy with the moving news?’ Sunggyu asked himself, unable to fall asleep for the rest of the night.

-

Friday came soon enough. Thankfully, Woohyun’s mood got better since that night Sunggyu spilled the news about their new house, though Sunggyu still couldn’t pinpoint the thing that was troubling his husband and every time he tried to bring it up, Woohyun always quickly avoided it. He woke up earlier than Woohyun despite wanting to sleep in a bit longer. Both of them had worked all day yesterday to clean the house and stayed up late to pack their personal belongings.

Sunggyu kissed Woohyun’s temple before getting out of bed, determined to be the one making breakfast for Woohyun. He left a small note letting Woohyun know that he was just in the kitchen, this was to avoid similar anxiety episode from happening. Once he was in the kitchen, he started whipping quick, simple kimchi fried rice. It didn’t take long for the aroma to travel across the house, waking Woohyun up from his slumber.

When Sunggyu was stirring the kimchi on the pan, he felt a pair of hands snaked around his midriff, smiling to himself when he heard Woohyun’s sleepy voice.

“What did you say, baby?”

“Why are you up so early, hyung?” Woohyun asked, gently rubbing his face against Sunggyu’s back.

“The truck will come around noon. You know if I continue to sleep, I probably won’t wake up until late noon. And of course, I need to feed my princess,” Sunggyu added the last part just to tease his husband.

That unfortunately earned him a painful pinch to his stomach. He whimpered in pain, trying to get again from Woohyun’s powerful crab pinch. But Woohyun just went back to backhugging his husband like nothing happened, before gently massaging the ‘wounded’ spot.

“That’s what you get from calling me a princess,” Woohyun mumbled against his back.

Sunggyu added some spring onions as the final touch before he turned off the stove. Then, he turned around and wrapped his arms around Woohyun’s waist.

“I’m sorry that you will always be my princess, baby,” Sunggyu said, with an expression that showed he was obviously teasing the younger man.

“I’m a man though,” Woohyun muttered under his breath as he continued to rest his head on Sunggyu’s shoulder.

“I know you are,” Sunggyu responded. He detached himself from the younger man and pointed to his lips.

Woohyun smirked at his husband and decided that it was fun to play with him a bit.

“So, what did you cook for breakfast? I’m hungry,” Woohyun said, successfully avoiding his husband as he tiptoed to see the fried rice on the stove behind Sunggyu.

“Wah, kimchi fried rice, it must be delicious,” Woohyun exclaimed excitedly, subconsciously rubbing his stomach as he smiled that ridiculously bright smile along with his smiling eyes at Sunggyu.

Sunggyu swiftly changed their position and pushed Woohyun’s hips against the kitchen counter. For a second, Woohyun looked like a surprised puppy, before grinning ear to ear when he heard the words the escaped his husband’s lips.

“Morning kiss.”

“I don’t want to,” Woohyun said with a playful expression and attempted to escape the situation. But Sunggyu placed both hands at the side of Woohyun’s body, successfully trapping him.

“I want my morning kiss,” Sunggyu growled, before adding a small aegyo that didn’t suit the way he demanded before, “please? Hyunnie, I want my morning kiss.”

It was safe to say that Woohyun melted on the spot. It was such a rare occasion that Sunggyu used his aegyo on him and he was so adorable that Woohyun couldn’t just say no. He leaned in and gave Sunggyu a small peck on the lips before rubbing their noses together.

“Is it enough?” Woohyun asked, half teasing, half curious.

Sunggyu leaned in for another peck before kissing down Woohyun’s jaws, which had the younger man moaning softly when he neared his lobe. Then, Sunggyu continued to nibble on Woohyun’s neck, sucking hardly at the tender skin until a red spot started blooming.

“Now, that’s enough,” Sunggyu whispered against his lips, kissing Woohyun softly, “for now.”

The way Sunggyu’s eyes twinkled with mischief made Woohyun’s stomach do a somersault. It was almost like a promise that they would be doing more…later.

“Woohyun-ah, come. Let’s eat,” Sunggyu called from the dining room.

Woohyun rubbed his neck, feeling his cheeks still flushed from their recent ‘couple activity’. He didn’t even realise when Sunggyu left the kitchen.

“Woohyun-ah, are you okay baby? Do I need to come and get you?”

“I’m c-coming,” Woohyun quickly said, and blushed deeper at the other meaning of his words. 

-

They arrived at their new house in late afternoon because of the traffic. Sunggyu was right. Woohyun was instantly in love with the house as soon as he stepped foot in the front yard. Everything was beautiful. He already started imagining building a small gazebo where they both could take their lunch (and even dinner) outside sometimes, a few cute potted plants near the entrance and from here; he saw a balcony overlooking the lawn. It was definitely a dream came true and he hadn’t even seen the interior of the house.

Woohyun turned to Sunggyu who was smiling at his reaction the entire time and engulfed Sunggyu in a bone crushing hug. He whispered his thank you over and over again to his husband. Sunggyu looked at the helpers who were busy unloading their furniture from the truck. He knew he should have been helping them right now, but he couldn’t help himself from pulling Woohyun close for a kiss. It was caught in the moment kind of feeling and kissing his lovely husband felt like the right thing to do, though it was risky as they both were in public.

“Hyung,” Woohyun muttered, gently pushing Sunggyu away as he quickly looked around in case anyone had seen their kiss. He sighed in relief when he saw that everyone was still busy unloading their stuff.

“Go and unlock the door, I’m going to help them with our stuff,” Woohyun instructed, leaving Sunggyu’s side.

Sunggyu frowned, not liking the fact that they couldn’t even show their affection for each other in public. He had lived with that fact before, but today the feeling intensified and it just left him frustrated that they could never tell others that they were married and in love without the risk of being ostracized. He knew that younger generations these days were much more open-minded about it, but they still couldn’t take their chance.

“Sunggyu hyung? Are you okay?” Woohyun touched his arm. He instantly smiled at his husband.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking,” Sunggyu said, before he proceeded to unlock the door.

Woohyun helped with the lifting, even though the ahjusshis insisted that he didn’t have to. But Sunggyu just told them that it made Woohyun happy to know that he was able to help and to let him be. The ahjusshis stopped protesting after that and let Woohyun help them. Sunggyu took care of their luggages and started organizing some stuff in the master bedroom. They had sent the bed and other bigger furniture yesterday. He was glad that he decided to hire those helpers because he hated lifting heavy things.

He was going to warn Woohyun that he was going to have an aching body all night long, but decided against it, seeing how Woohyun was happily chatting with the ahjusshis as he helped them. Sunggyu placed the frame that had their wedding picture on the nightstand, smiling fondly at the memory. It was until he heard someone clearing his throat behind him; he quickly placed the picture down before turning around.

“Here’s the receipt, Sunggyu-sshi,” the older man said, handing Sunggyu a receipt.

Sunggyu was about to take out his wallet to pay for the rest of the moving cost when the older man stopped him, explaining that Woohyun had already paid for it and he was just giving the receipt to Sunggyu because Woohyun went to use the bathroom. Sunggyu frowned a little, before proceeding to thank the ahjusshis for their hard work and sent them out. The house was quiet after that.

He called out for Woohyun. As the ahjusshi said, Woohyun was indeed in the bathroom. He knocked on the door.

“What are you doing?” There was no answer.

“Woohyun-ah?”

Then, he heard something falling on the floor. He took out the spare keys he had with him and unlocked the bathroom door. Woohyun looked like a child who was caught red-handed eating his mother’s pie. Sunggyu eyed the bottle on the floor, recognizing the ointment before sighing. He bent down to pick up the ointment.

“Show me your hands,” Sunggyu said; his tone firm.

Woohyun let out a pitiful whine before closing their distance, finally showing his hands to Sunggyu which were full of blisters.

“You idiot, at least wear gloves if you’re going to help. Sit down,” Sunggyu instructed. He crouched next to the younger man who obediently sat on the toilet cover. Gently, he started applying the ointment on Woohyun’s blisters, blowing softly on them.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Sunggyu asked, concerned.

“A little,” Woohyun said, smiling at his husband. He loved seeing Sunggyu’s caring side.

“How do you find the house?” Sunggyu asked, curious.

“It’s amazing, hyung. Thank you,” Woohyun murmured; voice filled with sincerity and gratitude.

The new house was a two-storey house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, one bedroom, a bathroom and a small laundry room downstairs. The kitchen and the living room were spacious and Woohyun was already in love with the modern, simplistic design.

“I’m glad you love it, Hyun,” Sunggyu said, leaning in to add, “and I bet you’ll love the bathtub for two in our bedroom even more.”

Woohyun looked at his husband in the most scandalised expression he could muster, slapping Sunggyu’s arm when he winked cheesily at him.

“Horny bastard,” Woohyun muttered under his breath, avoiding Sunggyu’s piercing gaze.

“Aw, where did my princess learn such bad words? Do you want hyung to punish you?” Sunggyu was towering over Woohyun, with his hand cupping Woohyun’s cheek.

“Stop,” Slap. “calling,” Slap. “me,” Slap. “a,” Slap. “princess!” Woohyun ended it with a powerful pinch that had Sunggyu begging for his mercy.

Woohyun quickly escaped from the bathroom and locked himself in the bedroom near the kitchen. He fanned his heated cheeks. Even though he always scolded Sunggyu for calling him a princess, he hated to admit that whenever Sunggyu called him that, it did weird things to his heart.

“What’s wrong with me?” Woohyun asked no one in particular, hoping that the blush in his cheeks would be gone.

“Hyun? I’m sorry, okay. Open up, baby,” Sunggyu begged behind the closed door.

“L-Leave me alone!” Woohyun exclaimed. The knocking stopped and Woohyun felt half bad for sending his husband away.

He sighed and sat on the bed. He looked around the room. He was guessing that this would be the guest room and Sunggyu must have ordered the new bed to be sent here before they moved their other things. Feeling tired, he decided to lie down for a moment, but ended falling asleep on the bed.

-

Sunggyu trudged to their room, deciding that he would let Woohyun have his alone time. He plopped down onto their bed and sighed heavily as he stared at the ceiling.

“What’s wrong with him?” he asked himself.

“Why do I always make him angry?”

He shook his head and was about to let himself be drifted into sleep when he heard a familiar ringtone. Woohyun’s cell phone. He went to fetch the phone which was in the living room downstairs. There were two missed calls from an unknown number. He climbed back upstairs as he redialled the number. It could be something important.

A woman answered the call. He didn’t hesitate to ask what business she had with Woohyun and her explanation shocked him to the bone. When the phone call ended, he was left feeling helpless and guilty.

_What have I done?_

-

When Woohyun woke up, it was already dark outside. He didn’t even realise when he had fallen asleep. But when he tried to move, he realised that he was not alone as Sunggyu was spooning him from behind and he had a firm grip around his waist.

“H-Hyung?” Woohyun groggily called out for his husband.

He didn’t feel it at first, but soon he felt the trembles in Sunggyu’s body, detecting that something was indeed wrong.

“Sunggyu hyung, what’s wrong?” Woohyun asked, turning around so he could see Sunggyu’s face. But he really wished he didn’t because Sunggyu was crying.

“Why are you crying, hyung? Are you hurt somewhere?” Woohyun asked in panic, cupping Sunggyu’s face and wiping away his tears.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Hyun?”

“Huh? What are you talking about, hyung?”

Sunggyu weakly started hitting Woohyun’s chest before apologising to him over and over again.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know, baby,” Sunggyu cried, then it dawned on Woohyun.

“It’s okay; it’s not your fault, hyung. I can try again,” Woohyun said, even though Sunggyu could see that even he was still upset about it. But Woohyun had been concealing his feelings so well and it pained Sunggyu to know that he didn’t tell him about the teacher placement interview.

“No, it’s not okay, Woohyun. I know that you are not supposed to miss the placement interview without reasons or you will be blacklisted. Baby, why didn’t you tell me? We could have made other arrangements for the moving process. And you didn’t even tell me when you applied for it. I’m hurt, you said you trust me,” Sunggyu sobbed, almost resembling like a child.

It hurt Woohyun to see how much this news hurt Sunggyu. He had no one to blame, but himself.

“I…I’m sorry, hyung. I applied right after I graduated and it’s been almost two years since then. I thought…I thought I would never get called for an interview until that phone call came in last week. I’m just…I’m sorry, this is my fault. I should have talked to you, but you were so happy that day about moving and about your new job, I just…I can’t bring myself to tell you,” Woohyun explained, biting his lips.

He didn’t even realise that he was crying until Sunggyu brushed away his tears.

“Don’t apologise, it wasn’t your fault. I just hope that you’ll talk to me about these things, okay Hyun? Promise me that you’ll talk to me, baby?”

Woohyun nodded, gently wiping Sunggyu’s tears away until he wasn’t crying anymore. Sunggyu did the same to his husband. They stared into each other’s eyes before they both burst out laughing.

“We’re such crybabies, I can’t believe,” Woohyun giggled, then covering his mouth as a hiccup slipped out.

“You’re so adorable,” Sunggyu remarked. He pulled Woohyun for a short kiss before gazing into his still wet eyes.

“Promise me that we’ll talk about everything?” Sunggyu asked, stretching a pinky finger towards Woohyun.

Woohyun started avoiding his gaze. “Um, I don’t know. I’m not sure, I can’t promise…”

Sunggyu squeezed the younger man in his arms as it was becoming more obvious that Woohyun was just teasing him.

“Alright, I promise you, Kim Sunggyu,” Woohyun murmured, linking their pinkies together as they continued to smile bashfully at each other like a newlywed couple on their first night.

-


	10. Getting to know Glory Lane

-

Sunggyu trudged tiredly into his new house that Friday, definitely glad that it was the last working day as he looked forward to spending the weekend with his husband. Working at the new law firm was fun (in Sunggyu’s dictionary), they already had a few interesting cases running. Though to be honest, Sunggyu was quite overwhelmed with the amount of work he had considering it was only his second week there. But since he loved his current job and had always wanted to do some ‘real’ law-related work, he had no complaint, only disliking it a little because it kept him away from his lovely Woohyun.

“I’m home,” he called out, to receive no response from the younger man.

Sunggyu frowned at the unusually quiet house.

‘Is Woohyun asleep?’

“Baby?” Sunggyu tried again, “Woohyun-ah?”

When he didn’t receive any response, he quickly climbed the stairs, his heart hammering in his chest. Thousands of scenarios ran through his head that involved his husband getting hurt; however all those went away the instant he laid eyes on Woohyun, who was busy fixing his red checkered shirt in front of the body-length mirror in their room. Sunggyu heaved a relieved sigh as he approached Woohyun, who didn’t seem to register his presence in the room yet.

Woohyun jumped a little when there was a pair of hand suddenly wrapped around his waist, a weight on his shoulder as his husband rested his chin on it, relaxing when he realised that it was just Sunggyu.

“I was calling for you, idiot. I was worried when you didn’t answer,” Sunggyu mumbled, proceeding to sniff the heavenly scent that was his darling Woohyun as he pressed a kiss on Woohyun’s neck.

Woohyun didn’t pay much attention to Sunggyu’s words, still too fixed on buttoning the shirt, pouting as he muttered under his breath that he probably should change into something else as the shirt made him look like a high school kid.

“Hyun? Did you hear me?” Sunggyu grumbled, attacking Woohyun’s neck with more kisses when he realised that he just got ignored by his husband.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I was too preoccupied, I guess. Hyung, don’t you think this shirt makes me look a bit too young? Should I change?” Woohyun asked, subconsciously pouting as he unbuttoned the top button for the second time to check how he looked.

“You look fine, baby. Are you going somewhere? By the way, I’m hungry. Did you cook? Or should we order takeout?” Sunggyu asked, which was again ignored by Woohyun.

Sunggyu knew that Woohyun didn’t do it on purpose. He seemed genuinely distracted, it made Sunggyu wonder what happened.

“Woohyun-ah,” Sunggyu said, hating that he had to use a bit force to turn the younger man to face him. “Calm down, baby. Why are you so nervous? Are you meeting someone?”

The question finally hit Woohyun and the younger man frowned at Sunggyu, instantly making the older man uncomfortable under his gaze. From the way Woohyun was looking at him right now, he knew he was in trouble.

“I forgot something important again, didn’t I?” Sunggyu asked. When Woohyun just huffed and turned around to face the mirror again, Sunggyu knew he needed a quick plan or it could blow into one of those cold nights again.

“Baby,” Sunggyu tentatively whispered in Woohyun’s ears, making sure that there was no space in between their bodies as he slowly sneaked both hands under Woohyun’s shirt, playing with his navel and his nipple.

Woohyun shuddered as Sunggyu teasingly traced his long fingers around his sensitive areas, his back leaning back more into Sunggyu’s embrace as his legs grew weak at Sunggyu’s ministration.

“I-It’s not fair, hyung,” Woohyun moaned.

“What isn’t?” Sunggyu teased, his breath ghosting over Woohyun’s inviting lips.

“You,” Woohyun breathed, before pressing their lips together. Sunggyu’s hands left his waist as they cupped Woohyun’s face, pulling the younger man on top of him as they fell on the bed, lips still passionately attached.

Sunggyu swore the sounds that Woohyun made when he’s aroused were going to be the death of him. With Woohyun still on top of his, kissing him open-mouthedly as his hands tugged at Sunggyu’s hair, Sunggyu took this chance to unbutton the frustrating shirt that was in his way. That motion seemed to get Woohyun back to reality as he broke the kiss, looking down at Sunggyu breathlessly. Sunggyu thought he looked breathtakingly beautiful, with his red lips slightly parted exhaling soft breaths, his cheeks flushed a pretty shade and his hair was a tousled mess. His Woohyun who was always adorable and cute in his eyes looked so hot, and Sunggyu had a hard time fighting himself from taking Woohyun right there and then.

“We have to get ready, hyung,” Woohyun said, a bit disappointed that their intimate activity had to continue some other times, his eyes still fixed on Sunggyu’s slightly swollen lips. He was pulled to press a kiss on his husband’s lips, then another one, then another one until he felt that there won’t be enough kisses that would leave him satisfied.

“Where are we going, baby?” Sunggyu asked, Woohyun falling to sit on his lap as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

“The welcoming party.”

-

Since it was already dark when they stepped out of their house to go to the Nams’ family house which was just across the street, they held hands until they were just a few meters away from their front door. Woohyun couldn’t keep his hand from shaking out of nervousness. He was still thinking of how they were going to introduce themselves to their neighbours.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” Sunggyu whispered, squeezing Woohyun’s hand before he rested both hands on Woohyun’s shoulders to look into the younger man’s eyes.

“How are we going to do this again, hyung?” Woohyun asked; his voice shaky.

“We’re Sunggyu and Woohyun who had just moved from downtown Seoul and we have been best friends since we were kids. Okay?” Sunggyu repeated the lines they had been perfecting since they moved here about a month ago.

Sunggyu saw how Woohyun didn’t instantly feel better after that. He was grateful for the dim street light as he stepped closer to Woohyun, rubbing their noses together as if to wordlessly reassure Woohyun that everything would be fine.

“Ready?” Sunggyu asked his husband. Woohyun looked at him and attempted a weak smile before muttering a soft yet firm ‘ready’ as a response.

Leading the way, he rang the bell. It was only their second time visiting the Nams. The first time was when they went around giving out cupcakes that Woohyun personally baked as a polite gesture to let people know they were the new residents in their neighbourhood. Nam Ryangha and his wife, Lee Dalnim were eager to arrange and organise the welcoming party for them and had invited everyone residing in Glory Lane to celebrate the two new addition to their ‘one big family’. They could not possibly reject their eagerness and good intention, finally picking out a suitable date that ensured everyone was available for the party which happened to be today.

“Oh, Sunggyu and Woohyun, you’re here. Come on in, everyone’s here already. We almost sent the kids to look for you two. Did something happen?” Ryangha greeted them into their humble yet lively home.

It was the house to a family of six, as Ryangha and Dalnim were blessed with four kids. They only knew that much, having only met the couple. There were quite a number of kids in the neighbourhood and they had yet to get to know which kids belonged to which house.

 “Nothing happened, Ryangha hyung. Don’t worry about it,” Sunggyu said with a smile.

“We’re eating in the backyard by the way. Woohyun-ah, can you help me with the food?” Dalnim asked, Woohyun nodded and followed the woman into her spacious kitchen while Sunggyu trailed behind Ryangha who showed him the way to the backyard.

Woohyun appeared with the spaghetti sauce not long after, flustered at the amount of people in The Nams’ house backyard. They were not lying about inviting everyone in Glory Lane to celebrate them moving in.

“Alright, let’s sit down. Before we eat, let’s introduce ourselves. Firstly, in case any of you here don’t know, these are Sunggyu and Woohyun, our latest family addition,” Ryangha started, gesturing for them to do their introduction before everyone else could do theirs. Both of them couldn’t help but to blush and feel very welcomed as everyone clapped enthusiastically after Ryangha finished talking.

“Hello. I’m Kim Sunggyu,” Sunggyu introduced himself while standing up and then bowing to everyone, earning multiples giggles at his politeness (and awkwardness), “I’m 29 years old and I recently moved from downtown Seoul because I got a job near this neighbourhood. That’s all, I think?” Sunggyu ended it, looking at Ryangha as if asking if he needed to say more.

“That’s good enough, for now, Sunggyu. Now, Woohyun’s turn, if you may.”

“Hello. Nice to meet everyone here. I’m Nam Woohyun,” Woohyun said, giggling nervously to himself before continuing, “I’m just munching off Sunggyu hyung here.”

Everyone burst into laughter at the joke Woohyun made except Sunggyu, who frowned at the younger man’s description of himself. He suddenly stood up again, earning everyone’s attention on him. Woohyun was taken aback as Sunggyu cleared his throat to speak again.

“Don’t joke like that, Woohyun-ah,” Sunggyu muttered, the atmosphere suddenly grew a bit tense, “Actually Woohyun is an education major college graduate, it’s unfortunate that he hasn’t been able to get a job yet, but I believe that he would, soon. We’ve been best friends since childhood,” Sunggyu bit his lips at the lie before continuing again, “so no, Woohyun’s not munching off me. I’m…I’m happy that I’m living with my b-best friend.”

Sunggyu sat down and so did Woohyun. The younger man couldn’t keep his eyes off Sunggyu, feeling bad for throwing that joke at such an inappropriate time. He was about to subtly reach for Sunggyu’s hand when Ryangha cleared his throat and clapped, urging the others to clap at their _tense_ introduction.

“So, now we’re going to introduce ourselves one by one, ok? Let’s start with our elders,” Ryangha received a slap on his arm by the oldest woman there, everyone broke into laughter watching their interaction.

“Hello Sunggyu and Woohyun. We’re from next door, house No 1, my name is Shim Bora and this is my husband, Je Suho. Like Ryangha said just now, we’re the oldest couple here and we have lived here for over 30 years. Welcome to the family, sons.”

The elder woman walked towards Woohyun and Sunggyu who immediately stood and bowed to her. Everyone kept on laughing at how awkward they were. Apparently, no one told them that they didn’t have to be so formal with everyone. They were basically a family now.

“Thank you omeonim. Guys, don’t be so formal with us ok? Just call the elders omeonim and abeonim, they are fine with it,” Ryangha said.

The introduction went on for almost half an hour, by the time they ended the breaking ice session, Woohyun’s stomach was embarrassingly making loud noises. Dalnim who was sitting near Woohyun realised this and quickly asked his husband to wrap up the session so they all could eat.

They found out that The Nams had four kids, Taeha who was seventeen, Taehyun and Daehyun the twins were fifteen and the youngest was Taemin, barely ten years old. The family resided in No 3 was the Lees, consisting of the couple Kim Junsu and Choi Bomi who were both forty one years old; they were blessed with two pretty daughters, Sohyun and Saeron who were eighteen and seventeen years old respectively. The Songs family lived in No 5, Song Ilgook with his beautiful wife, Lee Jaehwa had triplets, Daehan, Minguk, Manse who were all four years old.

The Lees who lived in No 4 only had one kid, Lee Yein, a barely one year old baby. The Lee Jinho and Hong Sera couple were the youngest couple there. Like Sunggyu and Woohyun, they were also new there, having moved in about one year ago before Yein was born. Out of all kids, Yein probably caught Woohyun’s attention the most as her baby eyes kept staring at him throughout the introduction. He was dying to reach out and try to hold her, but for now, he held himself back.

Besides the Nams, Woohyun and Sunggyu were already quite familiar with the Chois, as they lived right next door to their house, residing in No 6. The Choi family consisted of Choi Kyuhyun and his wife, Jang Nari, with their kids Minho, Minhwan and Sarang. The other house next to theirs was the other Lee family. Lee Dongguk was a single parent who was raising three kids on his own after separating with his wife two years ago. The couple couldn’t help but to feel bad for him as he introduced himself and his kids, who also looked sad as if they understood their dad’s predicament. Maeum and Ruda were twins and they had a younger brother named Daebak.

Sunggyu was right about the neighbourhood being a kiddy land and Woohyun just loved it. Now that they had known everyone, Woohyun hoped that he could become closer with the kids.

“Woohyun-sshi, Sunggyu-sshi said you’re an education major right? What subject you majored in, if I may ask?” Bomi  asked.

“Oh, I majored in English,” Woohyun said, laughing a little because all of sudden, he felt flustered as all the moms’ eyes there turned to him. “By the way, Bomi-sshi, you can talk comfortably with me.”

“That’s great! Have you ever thought about tutoring? Alright, I’ll drop the formality then. I’m guessing we all can just address each other as noona or hyung here, right?”

“Hm, I did a lot of tutoring jobs back in university, but since I graduated, I haven’t done any.”

Woohyun could practically see the light bulb lighting up in all their minds.

“What about you tutor the kids? I’m sure most of them need help in English. Usually, my daughter Sohyun would teach the neighbourhood kids some English and other subjects, but she’s in her final year of high school, so she’s getting busier. What do you think, Woohyun-ah? I mean, of course we won’t force you,” Bomi explained.

“Yeah, if you agree to do it, I’ll make sure you’ll get paid for it. I think this is a good chance for you in the meantime you haven’t found a job yet. Treat it like a teacher training, Woohyun-ah,” Dalnim added eagerly.

Woohyun’s heart warmed up quickly at their eagerness. It touched him greatly that they seemed to really care about him and though Sunggyu only mentioned it once and that was a couple of hours ago, they still remembered that he was unemployed and they were obviously trying to help him in a way. Woohyun decided that he was really glad that they moved to the neighbourhood.

“Sure, I’ll be glad to do the tutoring, noona.”

-

A few hours later, they finally went back home, cleaned up and changed into their sleeping wears. Sunggyu was quick to throw himself on the bed, his work plus the party they attended earlier had completely worn him out. He was pretty sure he was not going to wake up tomorrow. Sunggyu felt Woohyun’s skilful hands on gently pressing onto his shoulders, easing gentle massage into the stiffness near his neck. He groaned in pleasure, always loving the massages Woohyun gave him.

“Woohyun-ah…”

“Hm?”

“I mean it.”

“You mean what, hyung?”

“Don’t joke like that ever again ok?”

Woohyun’s fingers stopped moving for a while. Sunggyu took this chance to turn around and tackled Woohyun so that the younger man was under him. He gently nudged at Woohyun’s chin, forcing eye contact that the younger man was deliberately avoiding.

“Woohyun-ah…” Their eyes met. Woohyun could almost hear his own heartbeat beating so loud in his ears as Sunggyu leaned in. Being the huge tease he was, Sunggyu let his lips linger just right above Woohyun’s, torturing the younger man as he spoke, his breaths tickling against Woohyun’s lips that left him wanting for more, wanting his husband close and closer.

“Hyunnie has been a very bad boy,” Sunggyu whispered, blowing warm breaths onto Woohyun’s lips, which quivered sensitively. Woohyun’s face was flushed red, not wanting to give in so quickly and beg to be taken by his husband.

Sunggyu’s words sent jolt all over Woohyun’s body, he suddenly felt very hot and hyperaware of everything, realising that Sunggyu had his hips trapped in between his legs, feeling their arousal pressed against each other. Woohyun didn’t even realise when he closed his eyes as he heard Sunggyu softly asking him to look at him. When he did, he couldn’t help the moan from slipping out as Sunggyu traced his lower lip with his thumb.

“Tsk. A very, very bad boy, indeed. What should hyung do to this bad boy, Woohyun-ah?” Sunggyu whispered against Woohyun’s jaw, leaving fluttering wet kisses along his jaw before teasing the younger by nibbling at his neck.

Woohyun couldn’t take it anymore as he forcefully cupped Sunggyu’s face and mashed their lips together for a sloppy yet passionate kiss.

“Punish me, then. Punish me, Gyu,” Woohyun mumbled into their kiss.

-


	11. Crash Course

-

Woohyun rubbed his sleepy eyes, thinking that annoying bell sounds were just in his dream. But when he realised that he was awake and the bell was still ringing nonstop, he jolted from his bed and practically ran downstairs, without looking at his attire. In his grogginess, he thought it was just Sunggyu who had forgotten his house keys again. When Woohyun opened the door, he didn’t expect Lee Dongguk to stand there, wearing an apologetic face as he carried Daebak in his hands and the twins each standing next to him.

He almost screamed in shock, closing the door hastily to hide his less-than-decent sleepwear. Woohyun was only wearing Sunggyu’s boxer, which was probably his husband’s doing before he went to work.  Opening the door slightly to reveal his face, he told Lee Dongguk to wait for a bit while he went to get dressed decently.

Once he was sure that he was presentable, he opened the door, apologising for his rude manner (bearing in mind to never answer the door without checking himself in the mirror first). Woohyun thought he was lucky that Dongguk didn’t see his back and that his torso was unmarked, he was pretty sure Sunggyu left a huge ass hickey on his lower back yesterday.

“I’m really sorry for this sudden notice. Everyone apparently had something to attend to today. I usually leave the kids with Nari when I have training, but her mother is sick so she has gone to visit her for the week. Please, Woohyun-sshi. Just this once, I promise. They are used to being babysat, so they’ll know how to behave. You just need to tell them what to do and they’ll listen to you. Please, Woohyun-sshi?” Dongguk was practically half begging right now and Woohyun didn’t have the heart to say no to him.

Well, it’s not that Woohyun had the intention to reject his request in the first place. He had always wanted to spend more time with the neighbourhood kids and this served as a good chance to get closer to them.

“Sure, Dongguk hyung. I don’t mind. I’m free all day anyway, so don’t worry. I’ll take good care of them,” Woohyun reassured him.

“Oh my God, Woohyun-sshi, you’re a life saver, I swear,” Dongguk exclaimed happily, causing Woohyun to chuckle along, scratching awkwardly at his heated cheeks.

“By the way, don’t be so formal with me, hyung. Woohyun is fine.”

They shook hands after Dongguk explained a bit about the twins’ allergies to seafood and anything with nuts. Just like that, Dongguk was gone and Woohyun was left with the three kids to be taken care of the entire day.

“So, who’s hungry?” Woohyun baited them, surprised that the kids warmed up to him quickly, all begging to be carried by Woohyun. He could already feel the ache in his back as Ruda climbed onto his back.

‘It’s going to be a long day for me.’

-

Woohyun gulped looking at the mess in the kitchen. The girls begged him with cute pouts about wanting to make chocolate cupcakes (the one he sent his neighbours in his first week in Glory Lane), so he had no choice but to grant their wishes. He was their ‘Miracle Bunny Uncle’ after all (which he suspected was another version of Santa to them because besides the mess they made, which was just them trying to help him in the kitchen, they behaved quite well, telling him that Miracle Bunny won’t grant them more wishes if they misbehaved).

Helping him with the cupcakes drained the twins, who ended up sleeping on the kitchen counter as they waited for the cupcakes to be done. Woohyun carried the two of them to the guest room and gently laid them on the bed, joining Daebak who was thankfully still asleep after he fed him his breakfast. He left the door open as he quickly took the chance to clean the kitchen and whipped something quick for lunch so that when the kids woke up later, they won’t ask weird things since everything was already cooked.

Woohyun decided to take a quick shower since he didn’t get to take one in the morning, hoping that the kids won’t wake up while he was in the shower. But of course, fate had a funny way to make his life a bit harder as not even five minutes relaxing under the hot shower; Daebak’s cries filled the house. Woohyun quickly ran out of the bathroom after securing his bathrobe around his still damp body, slipping on the wet tiles and almost breaking his back as he fell down on the floor, he had no time to mind his pain as Daebak’s voice grew louder.

“Uncle Hyun is coming, Daebak-ah,” Woohyun cried, painfully (and funnily) limping his way to the guestroom.

Daebak stopped crying immediately after he spotted Woohyun standing by the door. The little boy spread his arms, as if asking to be held and carried. Woohyun took the boy and carried him out of the room, hissing every once in a while with every step he took. He brought the boy upstairs with him as he still needed to get dressed. Daebak was placed on the bed and remained silent as he blinked at Woohyun who quickly put on a pair of shorts and a loose t-shirt just in case Daebak started crying again if he left him for too long.

Dongguk had told him a bit about Daebak’s separation anxiety since he and his wife were divorced. The little boy always needed someone to hold him when he’s awake, that’s why Dongguk reminded him to always put Daebak to sleep after every meal so he wouldn’t be having a hard time to carry Daebak everywhere. Woohyun smiled at the little boy who was still blinking at him, which earned him a burst of giggles from the boy.

“Aigoo, who woke Daebakkie up?” Woohyun cooed at the boy as he lifted Daebak and started carrying him downstairs. The boy was probably thirsty after his sleep.

“M-Monster,” Daebak started whining as tears formed in his eyes.

‘No, no, don’t cry now Daebak,’ Woohyun chanted in his head, wiping the boy’s tears.

“There’s no monster in Uncle Hyun’s house, Daebakkie. Do you think I have monsters here? See? There’s no one here except me,” Woohyun said.

The little boy stopped crying and nodded, as if agreeing with Woohyun after seeing that there was no one in the kitchen except Woohyun. Deemed that it was good enough, Woohyun helped the little boy to drink a cup of milk, thankful that he and Sunggyu just did their grocery shopping a few days ago. They usually ran out of milk every a few days since Sunggyu only had his coffee with fresh milk as he hated creamer.

“Is Daebakkie hungry? Do you want Uncle Hyun to feed you something delicious?”

“Yes!”

Woohyun mentally patted himself on the back for managing to feed Daebak his curry rice, even the vegetables though he had been warned about Daebak’s pickiness when it came to eating. He tried to pat the boy to sleep in the room with his still sleeping sisters, but Daebak seemed reluctant to let go of his t-shirt. He gave up and brought the boy to the living room again. He didn’t have to do much to be honest; as the boy climbed onto his lap on his own and adjusted his position so that his face was pressed against Woohyun’s chest, one hand grabbing the front of his t-shirt and another hand was habitually on his mouth, sucking his tiny thumb. Daebak was fast asleep.

“You’re so lucky you’re adorable, Daebak-ah,” Woohyun whispered, softly patting the sleeping boy’s head.

He had to admit it was tiring, but somehow he loved the feeling of having people to be taken care of at the house. With Sunggyu always at work for most of the day, it was indeed lonely. Woohyun didn’t use to feel like this when they were dating; the extreme loneliness was only felt after they were married, for some unexplainable reasons. He tried to not think about it too much, giving himself excuses like it was probably because he didn’t have anything to do at home and no one to talk to (which were also the truth).

That’s why sometimes he loved it when Sunggyu called him during his lunch break, just to ask him how his day was so far and if he had eaten his breakfast and lunch. He didn’t know how Sunggyu knew it, but he always called at the right time. Though he understood that Sunggyu was busy and on those days, he yearned to hear his husband’s voice, but held himself back from calling him, knowing how stressed and hectic his job probably was. He guessed that today was probably one of those days. Woohyun sighed to himself.

“Come on, Woohyun, let’s not think about this. Nothing good can come out of you overthinking anyway, so cheer up, okay?” Woohyun whispered to himself, even making a ‘fighting!’ gesture to cheer himself up. It worked a little as he felt his lips breaking into a smile, realising how ridiculous it was if someone were to catch himself talking alone.

Woohyun carefully carried Daebak back to the room. He also checked on the twins who were strangely asleep for more than three hours already.

‘Do little kids take a super long afternoon nap?’ he wondered to himself, contemplating whether to wake the two up or not.

‘Should I just let them sleep or should I wake them up for lunch?’

Woohyun glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was half past two already. He bit his lips. For the first time, he was completely confused of what to do.

‘God, tell me what to do.’

As if answering his prayer, the sound of his ringtone suddenly filled the quiet house. He briskly walked to the living room to fetch his phone and was glad it was Dongguk calling to check up on the kids (him).

“Hyung! How is training?”

“It’s going well. By the way, Woohyun-ah, I’m really sorry to tell you that I’ll be a bit late today? So the kids probably have to have dinner at your house too. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay, hyung. I have no problem making food for them. It’s just…I have a question.”

“What is it, Woohyun-ah?”

Woohyun could feel his cheeks burning in embarrassment as he asked the question that had been bugging him for the past fifteen minutes. Dongguk’s deep manly laughter filled his ears right after hearing his dilemma.

“Aigoo, Woohyun-ah, why are you so cute? Just let them sleep. Maeum and Ruda usually have longer afternoon nap especially if they get too creative and energetic in the morning. You fed them with something heavy for breakfast, right? Then, don’t worry about it. They’ll wake up on their own, usually at the same time, when they’re hungry.”

“Okay, Dongguk hyung…can you please stop laughing at me? I’m feeling really stupid right now,” Woohyun muttered, subconsciously pouting as Dongguk laughed at him again.

“It’s okay to not know about things and it’s completely okay to ask about them, Woohyun-ah. I was once a beginner dad too, you know. Everyone needs to learn, only then they’ll become better at it. Though I’m sure you’re doing great, I’ll never hear the end of it when I pick the kids up later,” Dongguk said, his sincere praise made Woohyun blush deeply, grateful that they were on the phone.

“Alright hyung. Be careful on your training. I’ll take good care of the kids, don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you so much, Woohyun-ah. You’re a life saver!”

-

“Who was that, Dongguk hyung? The little ones?” Jinho asked, preparing to go back to training again as their one-hour break was up.

“No, it’s Woohyun. I left the kids with him this morning and was just checking up to see how they’re doing,” Dongguk answered, still staring blankly at his phone.

“I thought it’s the kids because you were smiling so much and you still are. Wow, hyung I didn’t know you swing that way,” Jinho teased him.

“What are you talking about, Jinho?”

“No, it’s just, I think this is my first time seeing you smile and laugh so freely after your divorce. I just thought…nevermind what I said. Let’s get back to the field.”

‘Did I really just do that?’

-

Balancing the Chinese takeout in one hand (that was also holding his briefcase and his laptop bag) as he took out his house key from his slack, he struggled to insert the key in the keyhole. Sunggyu was going to give up and just ring the bell so Woohyun could open the door for him, but he thought against it as he felt really bad for coming home so late. The watch on his wrist displayed that it was a little after ten. The reason why he had bought Chinese food tonight was to make up for being late (and not informing Woohyun beforehand), knowing how much Woohyun hated it when he didn’t call or text him to let him know, making the younger man worry all day.

Sunggyu did a mental cheer as he managed to unlock the door; he slowly pushed the door and kept it open with his leg. The house was quiet, except for the soft, slow song playing on the radio – Woohyun must have kept it on. He was about to announce his arrival and call for Woohyun when he spotted the younger man, fast asleep on the couch in their living room. It was then he realised that Woohyun was not alone as he had Daebak on his lap as the little boy was also fast asleep against Woohyun’s chest, sucking on his two thumbs while his twin sisters, Maeum and Ruda were plastered to Woohyun’s side, both had their arms hooked around his husband’s.

One of Woohyun’s hands was securely wrapped around Daebak’s small body which kept him there on his lap and close to his chest while his other hand was holding onto a storybook. Sunggyu smiled fondly at the adorable scene. He quietly placed everything in his hand on the coffee table before taking out his phone to snap a good photo for keepsake. He approached the sleeping beauty and the adorable kids in silence, his heart fluttering and clenching at how Woohyun looked so tired, his cheeks faintly flushed with his lips slightly parted. He figured that the reason why Woohyun was not pestering for his whereabouts was because the kids kept his busy. He felt bad for his husband, but at the same time he was half glad that at least Woohyun wasn’t worrying about him.

Sunggyu didn’t realise what he was doing, his tired body was moving on autopilot as when he realised it he was already leaning in to place a soft kiss on Woohyun’s exposed forehead – the younger man was wearing this cute pink soft headband that Sunggyu suspected either belonged to Ruda or Maeun. He chuckled softly as Woohyun frowned in his sleep; he placed another kiss and waited for the same reaction. When Woohyun stopped reacting to his forehead kisses, he trailed downwards, kissing Woohyun’s nose bridge. He loved how Woohyun responded to his kisses even in his sleep as his nose kept twitching and scrunching at every little kiss he trailed on his nose.

Feeling (stupidly) brave, Sunggyu looked around and made sure that the kids were all still asleep; he gently pressed his lips against Woohyun’s parted one. He was not expecting a moan to slip from Woohyun’s lips though, slightly panicking as Woohyun let out another deep moan which had Sunggyu covering his husband’s lips in haste, relieved that all the kids were still sleeping. Woohyun must be super tired as he wasn’t even slightly awakened by all Sunggyu’s impulsive ministrations. Sunggyu titled his head and gently kissed Woohyun’s cheek, mumbling how much he missed him for the day.

He was caught off guard though, when he saw Maeum innocently blinking at him, his lips still plastered on Woohyun’s cheeks. A smile shy tugged at Maeum’s lips and Sunggyu almost sighed loudly in relief. He placed his index finger to his lips, indicating Maeum to keep quiet. The little girl nodded eagerly and smiled wider at Sunggyu, which brought a smile on his face.

Sunggyu turned his head and pointed at his cheek to Maeum, which the girl gladly kissed.

“Aigoo, pretty Maeumie. Come to Uncle Gyu,” Sunggyu whispered, extending his hands towards the little girl.

Maeum quietly unhooked her arm from Woohyun’s and stood on the couch, jumping into Sunggyu’s arm. Sunggyu walked away from the living room and played aeroplane with Maeum as he brought the girl into the kitchen. Maeum giggled softly as Sunggyu brought her up and down as if she was flying on a plane. He set her on the kitchen counter and opened the fridge.

“Does Maeumie want milk?” Sunggyu asked. The girl shook her head.

“Then, what does Maeumie want? Uncle Gyu wants to reward Maeumie for being such a good, pretty girl,” Sunggyu said in a children-friendly tone, lightly poking at her tummy as if asking what it wanted.

“Maeumie wants…Uncle Hyun’s chocolate cupcake!”

Sunggyu was surprised at her request. Then she kept pointing at something inside the fridge. Only then Sunggyu realised that there were at least a dozen of chocolate cupcakes with colourful frosting in the fridge. He took one and gave it to Maeum, who refused his help saying that she was a big girl and she could eat on her own. Sunggyu let her be.

He sat on the high stool and faced the little girl.

“Maeum-ah, can you help keep Uncle Gyu’s secret?”

Maeum eagerly nodded, still busy eating her cupcake. Sunggyu leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“Can you do that for Uncle Gyu?” He asked, trying to mask the fact that he’s nervous. What if Maeum accidentally told people about Sunggyu’s kiss on Woohyun’s cheek earlier?

“Of course. Uncle Hyun lets us kiss him a lot too because we love Uncle Hyun this big,” she said animatedly, making a cute gesture with her tiny hands. “Uncle Gyu loves Uncle Hyun a lot too, right? That’s why Uncle Gyu kisses Uncle Hyun earlier,” she muttered, giggling to herself as if recalling what happened earlier was so amusing to her young mind.

“Yes, Maeumie. Uncle Gyu loves Uncle Hyun so much. But you must promise me that you won’t tell anyone about it. Let this be our little secret, don’t you want that?”

‘Please say yes, please say yes,’ Sunggyu chanted in his head.

“Okay, if that’s what Uncle Gyu wants. Maeumie can keep a secret for Uncle Gyu,” she said, giggling to herself again. She had only hung out with Woohyun a few times, but it was scary how she was starting to resemble Woohyun a lot.

“Good girl, Maeumie,” Sunggyu patted her head.

He was giving her a glass of milk when the bell rang. It turned out it was the kids’ father, Lee Dongguk, who had just gotten back from his football training. Sunggyu carefully took Daebak’s in Woohyun’s arm and handed him to his father. He also offered himself to carry Ruda back to his house while Maeum walked on her own since she was the only one awake.

“I can’t tell how grateful I am to Woohyun for taking care of them. I promise I’ll make it up to you guys,” Dongguk said, voice filled with gratitude.

“Don’t mention it, Dongguk hyung. I’m sure Woohyun had fun with the kids,” Sunggyu said, handing Ruda to his father.

He bid the soccer player goodbye and walked back to his home. It was amazing that Woohyun hadn’t even moved since he got back. He approached his sleeping husband and caressed his cheeks gently.

“Poor my baby, you must be so tired entertaining the kids since morning, hm?” Sunggyu whispered softly, yet Woohyun didn’t show any sign of waking up.

Sunggyu carefully carried Woohyun to bed. It broke his heart a little as Woohyun was sleeping like a log for the first time in his life, even Sunggyu changing his day attire into something lighter, clean and more comfortable to sleep in didn’t wake him up.

“What do I do with you?” Sunggyu muttered, kissing Woohyun’s forehead as he pulled the younger man closer to him. His husband instinctively curled up against him, his hand grabbing Sunggyu’s grey wife beater. Sunggyu wrapped his arm around Woohyun’s shoulder and he was out like a light.

-


	12. Warmth

-

The sudden feeling of emptiness woke Sunggyu up from his slumber. He noted that it was still dark outside and the digital clock on their nightstand displayed that it was barely five in the morning. He frowned in the dim room, trying to find his husband’s figure as his hand blindly traced the empty spot next to him. Sunggyu abruptly shot up into a sitting position, rubbing his tiredness and sleepiness away from his eyes, the sudden movement gave him dizziness as his heart started beating so fast out of anxiety.

His feet touched the carpeted floor of their bedroom; slowly padding to the connecting bathroom after realising that the light was on. Sunggyu pushed the door open and found his heart calming down as his eyes caught his husband’s figure. Woohyun was in the bathtub with his back facing Sunggyu, his arms wrapped around his knees as he seemed to bask in the silence. Sunggyu’s knelt next to the bathtub and gently rested his hand on Woohyun’s nape, thumbing his tense muscles.

“Hey, you okay? Why are you up so early, baby?” Sunggyu asked; his morning voice deep and rich in its huskiness.  

Woohyun turned to face him, a tiny smile quickly formed on his face as he realised his husband’s presence. Instead of answering Sunggyu’s question, Woohyun rested his face on his knees, his eyes trained on Sunggyu’s face, which didn’t lessen Sunggyu’s worry. He was about to ask again when Woohyun suddenly spoke.

“Would you kiss me, Gyu?”

Sunggyu didn’t even hesitate as he cupped the younger man’s face and swiftly captured Woohyun’s wet plump lips.

“Are you okay now? God, you’re making me nervous, Hyun,” Sunggyu uttered, gently caressing Woohyun’s cheek, the younger man leaning into his palm at the touch.

“I’m okay…I think,” Woohyun answered; finally letting his eyes meet Sunggyu’s after a while of deliberately avoiding them.

“Hyun…” Sunggyu’s frown deepened at the response, marveling about what had happened yesterday because he was sure he left Woohyun in a perfect piece.

“Did something happen with the kids yesterday?” Sunggyu pressed for more, he knew he won’t be getting anything if he didn’t pry as Woohyun had the tendency to keep the bad things to himself, though they had promised that they would tell each other everything.

“No…I just, I woke up earlier and I can’t go back to sleep…” Woohyun trailed off, instantly letting Sunggyu know that there were more.

“And? Did you have another nightmare, baby?” Sunggyu asked worriedly. He was so close to jumping into the bathtub to hold his husband close, to comfort him, but he knew that when Woohyun didn’t make any attempt to entice him into bathing together with him, he probably wanted some space.

“No…my back…it hurts so much, h-hyung,” Woohyun finally said.

Sunggyu’s hand instantly trailed along Woohyun’s spines, rubbing his tender back gently as if to make the pain go away.

“What happened? Did you fall?” Sunggyu asked, still rubbing Woohyun’s back. He noticed how the younger man flinched when he touched his lower back.

“Does it hurt here?” Woohyun nodded, biting his lips to conceal a painful hiss when Sunggyu accidentally pressed that sore spot that he suspected was bruising from yesterday’s fall.

“Be more careful next time okay, Hyun?” Sunggyu lightly scolded him, a steady pout forming on Woohyun’s lips that made Sunggyu lean in and gently kissed his pout away.

“The water’s getting cold. Come on, let’s get you out,” Sunggyu said after touching the water again and realising the temperature drop. He grabbed a fluffy towel on the bathroom counter, kissing Woohyun’s wet crown before helping him up to stand.

Wrapping the towel around Woohyun’s body after he stepped out of the bathtub, without warning he swept Woohyun off his feet and carried him like a bride to their bedroom.

“I know my back hurts, but I can still walk, Gyu hyung,” Woohyun whined yet still tightened his arms around Sunggyu’s neck. Sunggyu pecked on Woohyun’s lips, smiling cheekily at his husband.

“I know, but I also know my husband likes to be spoiled,” Sunggyu said matter-of-factly, kissing the redness in Woohyun’s cheek because the younger man was so damn adorable.

Sunggyu laid Woohyun on the bed, his eyes never leaving Woohyun’s as a small smile played on his lips.

“Let me take care of my baby today, okay?” Sunggyu whispered, kissing Woohyun’s lips again, effectively melting Woohyun into a soft puddle of feelings under his body.

“Okay,” Woohyun said, letting Sunggyu dress him into something warm, the older man being extra careful with his back.

Woohyun was already so sleepy when Sunggyu finished dressing him and asked him to turn and lie on his stomach. He obediently complied, resting his face on his forearms.

“God, Woohyun how did you get this?” Sunggyu gasped as he eyed the large ugly bruise on his husband’s back. He wondered why Woohyun didn’t say anything sooner or how he even endured the pain all night until he was awakened because of it.

“I’ll be fine soon,” Woohyun mumbled sleepily, Sunggyu’s soft touches on his back were slowly lulling him back to dreamland. “You should shower and get ready for work, Gyu hyung,” Woohyun added, he was already slurring his words by the time he finished. He didn’t even hear Sunggyu’s reply as he quickly drifted into a comfortable sleep.

-

Woohyun woke up around noon and realised that he was alone. Of course, he was alone; Sunggyu had to go to work today. Then, his eyes fell on the neatly ironed light grey shirt and slacks still hung on the wardrobe’s door, a deep frown etched in between his eyebrows.

“Did Gyu hyung wear a different set today?” he asked no one in particular, slightly pouting, “I ironed those for him already though.”

Woohyun could feel every single muscle in his back protesting painfully as he descended down the stairs. He heard the TV from the bottom of the stairs and had a creeping suspicion about something, yet he couldn’t be too sure.

“Hyung?” Woohyun called out before he stepped foot in their living room.

“Oh, baby, you’re up? Come here.” It was then when Woohyun saw his husband lounging on the couch, wearing a comfortable loose shorts and a dark blue wife beater.

“What are you waiting for, Hyun? Do you want me to get you there? Come here,” Sunggyu said again, patting the spot next to him.

Woohyun was stunned and scrambled his brain to think of what day it was today. It was a Thursday, if his calculation was correct. Sunggyu shouldn’t be at home.

“Hey, you okay?” Woohyun jumped a little when he realised that Sunggyu was standing in front of him, holding him by the waist as if to support his weight while the other hand was caressing his face. Sunggyu’s concerned face came into a focus.

“I took the day off. I don’t think I should leave you at home like this. I thought about taking you to the clinic to get your back checked after you wake up. Let’s go later, okay?”

Woohyun wordlessly wrapped his arms around Sunggyu’s waist instead of responding to his husband, resting his head on Sunggyu’s shoulder. Sunggyu’s arm instinctively held Woohyun tighter and he guided the clinging man to the couch. Even after they were seated, Woohyun refused to let go, snuggling closer to his side.

Sunggyu peeked at the younger man’s face and saw that Woohyun had his eyes closed.

“Let’s go to the doctor later, okay baby? Hm?” Sunggyu playfully poked at Woohyun’s lips, wanting answers. But Woohyun just whined childishly and proceeded to hide his face on the crook of Sunggyu’s neck. Sunggyu sighed in defeat, rubbing Woohyun’s back softly hoping that nothing was seriously wrong with the bruise on his back. He wanted to take Woohyun to the doctor just to make sure that everything was alright.

“Baby, aren’t you hungry? It’s almost 1. You didn’t even have your breakfast today,” Sunggyu nagged, the steady yet gentle strokes on Woohyun’s back were proofs that he was just worried.

“I cooked today,” Sunggyu said nonchalantly, knowing that it would catch Woohyun’s attention.

“Really?” As he expected, Woohyun’s sparkly excited eyes were blinking cutely at him, like a puppy waiting for his master to throw him some treats for behaving well.

“Why? You don’t believe me?” Sunggyu purposely teased the younger man. Woohyun laid his head on Sunggyu’s chest and exhaled a rather dramatic sigh.

“Last time you tried to cook for us, you burned my favourite pot,” Woohyun complained; Sunggyu didn’t even have to look at Woohyun’s face to know that his husband was pouting.

“That was one time, okay! And I bought you new pots, have you forgotten?” Sunggyu tsk-ed at the sulky man in his arms, absentmindedly tracing his fingers along Woohyun’s prominent collarbone.

“I didn’t lie though. I made you chicken soup, my mom’s recipe,” Sunggyu said, his eyes were focusing on this cute mole on the crown of Woohyun’s head when the younger man suddenly looked up from his chest and flashed him the most adorable toothy smile.

“So, are you hungry now?” Sunggyu asked, not really caring about Woohyun’s answer because he would still make him eat anyway. He took away Woohyun’s barely audible yes as he pressed their lips together in a short kiss.

When he tried to go and get something for his younger husband to eat, Woohyun refused to part from his side. They ended up going to the kitchen together, Woohyun stuck on his back like a second skin. Sunggyu poured the soup in a small bowl before proceeding to scoop some rice in another bowl, doing all this while Woohyun contently inhaling Sunggyu’s scent and enjoying their closeness.

“Why is my baby extra clingy today, hm?” Sunggyu cooed, as if he was talking to a baby, which earned him a mumbled response from Woohyun.

“What was that, Hyun?”

“I just miss you…a lot,” Woohyun mumbled again.

Sunggyu carried the food to their humble dining table for four, Woohyun still plastered on his back. He should have grown concerned at Woohyun’s sudden clinginess today, but even he himself couldn’t deny how he loved being this close to Woohyun. Only when he was about to sit down Woohyun let him go and reached out for the neighbouring chair. However, Sunggyu was quicker when he pulled the younger man on his lap.

“Hyung, why are you like this?” Woohyun said, obviously flustered at Sunggyu’s sudden action and tried to escape when Sunggyu snaked his arm around Woohyun’s waist, successfully holding him down.

“I want to feed my baby today, is that wrong? Who’s the one who refused to let go of me like one minute ago?” Sunggyu teased, but quickly dropped it when he heard Woohyun’s stomach starting to make funny sounds.

Woohyun couldn’t help the blush rising to his cheeks when he realised that his stomach just made a loud grumbling noise. Sunggyu chuckled quietly, blowing on the soup a little before he brought the spoon to Woohyun’s lips. Woohyun swore when Sunggyu blew on his food, like his mom used to do when he was a child, he felt his chest warming at the gesture as his heart fluttered at the amount of affection and care Sunggyu put into every single action towards him.

“It’s nice, Gyu hyung…it’s really warm,” Woohyun mumbled, a bit shy for some unexplainable reasons.

It’s funny because they both were so used to each other’s presence, but there were still moments when they manage to make each other blush like high schoolers in love, those moments still felt the same, like when they first started dating and then soon realised that they were in love. Woohyun was embarrassed, his cheeks turning into a very pretty rosy colour, but he would have never wanted for this to change. The deep yearning for this kind of closeness, this kind of warmth, he always wants to feel it with Sunggyu, the person whom he loves with every fibre of his being.

-


	13. Sparks

-

“Woohyun-ah, what are you doing?” Sunggyu asked, sleepily munching on his toast as he absentmindedly stared at his husband’s bent body, perfectly displaying the curve of his bum.

It didn’t help that Woohyun was wearing one of his short shorts, denim material that barely reached his knees. Sunggyu titled his head at the loose white t-shirt that Woohyun was wearing; occasionally the younger man had to adjust the a-bit-too-big neck hole as it kept slipping past his left shoulder.

“Baby…” he trailed off, still staring, no longer munching on his breakfast as he put the toast down.

“What are you looking for?” Sunggyu had Woohyun’s waist in his grip, pulling the younger man back to a standing position; his once-bent body was tense against Sunggyu.

“My mom’s kimchi jars. She called this morning, asking if we’ve finished our kimchi stock she sent three months ago. We finished that like in one month,” Woohyun paused to chuckle, his body gently shook against Sunggyu’s, “She told us to come over next week and bring the jars since she’s making a new batch that could probably feed South Korea’s entire population.”

Woohyun was about to bend down again, looking into neighbouring cabinet when Sunggyu pulled him back and kissed his nape.

“Leave it, Hyun. I’ll help you find it. Now, have you had your breakfast? Come and eat with me,” Sunggyu whispered in his ears.

Woohyun sighed and turned in his husband’s arms. The lips met in no haste, Woohyun’s fingers tangled in Sunggyu’s bed hair as Sunggyu’s hand tightened around his waist, pulling him even closer to deepen their kiss, another hand further slipped down, cupping his bum.

“Okay, let’s eat,” Woohyun breathed, detaching himself from Sunggyu with a slightly flushed face and a small smile tugging at his lips. Sunggyu trailed behind his husband, amused.

They were casually chatting, enjoying the quiet morning and occasionally feeding each other when the bell rang. Sunggyu looked at the door then back at Woohyun, his look questioning.

“I’m not expecting anyone. Are you?” Woohyun asked, slowly rising from his seat. Sunggyu’s eyes fell on Woohyun’s rather exposed figure. He shook his head. Woohyun made a move to get the door when Sunggyu’s question halted his step.

“Are you going to answer the door in that?”

Woohyun stared at his husband, the constant ringing of the bell was slowly starting to annoy him and make him restless. He tried to digest the expression on Sunggyu’s face, then his eyes glanced down to his outfits.

‘I don’t see anything wrong with what I’m wearing.’

Shrugging and shaking his head at his confusing husband, he briskly padded to the door, opening it to greet whoever it was that came to disrupt their peaceful morning. To his surprise, it was Dongguk, but this time he was alone instead of accompanied by his three children.

“Dongguk hyung! Good morning. Come in,” Woohyun greeted, opening the door a little wider for their guest to come in.

“Um, I hope I wasn’t interrupting or anything,” Dongguk started, pausing as he realised another presence in the house that took him off guard.

‘Of course, they are housemates.’

“Good morning, Sunggyu.” Dongguk’s greeting was a bit awkward.

“Morning, Dongguk hyung. You don’t have training today?” Sunggyu asked as he joined Woohyun and Dongguk in the living room, almost expecting babysitting favour again since there couldn’t be other reasons that Dongguk showed up on their front step. He subtly glanced at his husband who had grown quiet all of sudden.

“Ah, no. We normally don’t have one on weekends,” Dongguk answered.

Sunggyu felt the slow burn of the fire burning in his stomach as he noticed the way Dongguk seemed distracted once his eyes were trained on Woohyun’s exposed legs.

“So, what brought you here then?” Sunggyu didn’t mean to sound hostile at all, but he suddenly disliked the idea of Dongguk in their house, on one fine Saturday morning which should have been spent only with the two of them.

“Oh yeah!” Dongguk slapped his own forehead, as if he had forgotten his initial intention of coming here this early. “I’m cooking for dinner tonight. A small barbeque. It’s not a party, don’t worry I don’t plan to invite the whole neighbourhood. I’d like to invite the two of you, to repay Woohyun for taking care of the kids.”

“Sure, we’ll come!” Of course, he should have expected Woohyun to accept it, too polite to reject the older man’s request.

Dongguk’s face was overjoyed, his eyes shining as he looked at Woohyun again. Sunggyu hated that he felt like he was the third wheeler there.

“Great! Dinner starts at 7. I also invited Junyoung and his housemates since you two haven’t met them at the welcoming party the other day.”

Sunggyu and Woohyun sent Dongguk to the door and didn’t even watch him leave as Sunggyu closed the door softly. Woohyun suddenly felt nervous at the sudden change in Sunggyu’s attitude.

“Sunggyu hyung…”

“Let’s continue our breakfast. You haven’t eaten,” Sunggyu said stiffly, heading to the dining table. He tried to control his breathing and forced himself to think rationally, not to be blinded by this sudden emotion that he was actually capable of feeling – to his own surprise.

He realised that all these years, he had never thought of other people as potential threats to his and Woohyun’s relationship, but finally today he realised that other people could be interested in his husband. A wave of overprotectiveness washed over him as he thought of the strange look in Dongguk’s eyes when he looked at Woohyun.

“Gyu hyung,” Woohyun tentatively called out, hesitantly putting his hand on Sunggyu’s shoulder, feeling the muscles so tense under his palm. “Are you okay?”

Sunggyu finally sighed and gave into the younger man’s soft touch. “I’m okay. Eat, baby.”

-

Sunggyu was lazily playing on his phone, waiting for Woohyun to be done with his evening shower. He really wished he could tell Woohyun to not go to Dongguk’s house tonight and make some excuses about both of them not coming, but he knew his husband would be strongly against that idea. He could already imagine the long lecture Woohyun would give him about maintaining a good relationship with their neighbours. But…

He groaned, in a moment of annoyance, the phone in his hand was thrown on the other side of the king bed. Ruffling his hair, he hit his head back against the pillow he was lying on for a few times before he stared at the plain-looking ceiling in defeat.

‘I shouldn’t be like this.’

“Are you okay, hyung?” Woohyun was done with his shower and he was towering over Sunggyu, his concerned gaze met Sunggyu’s dazed one. Woohyun touched Sunggyu’s forehead.

“You don’t have a fever. Are you feeling sick? Why is your face so red?”

Sunggyu instinctively swatted Woohyun’s hand away as he sat up, the younger man’s eyes widening at the sudden gesture and Sunggyu could see hurt blooming in his eyes. Woohyun fell back a few steps, distancing himself from the bed.

“Baby…Hyun, come here. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Woohyun was seated in front of Sunggyu in no time and stared at his husband with a gentle, worried look.

“Are you really okay? You haven’t been acting like yourself since this morning...” Woohyun swallowed the lump in this throat as he pushed his next words out. “Did I…did I do something wrong?”

“God, no!” Sunggyu groaned in frustration. He scooted close to Woohyun, so that when he was within an arm hug, Sunggyu embraced his still damp body from the shower.

“I’m such a jerk. I’m sorry, baby,” Sunggyu whispered, patting Woohyun’s wet hair. Woohyun’s arms snaked around Sunggyu’s waist.

“Why are you apologising? I’m just worried about you, hyung…and I’m scared if I did something to make you angry or hurt without me realising.”

“No, you didn’t do anything to make me angry. I’m sorry, okay?” Sunggyu pecked on Woohyun’s lips a few times before shooing the younger man away to dry himself, nagging that he would catch a cold if he stayed in his towel, not that Sunggyu was complaining about the view.

Less than five minutes later, Woohyun came near the bed again, his torso still bare from any clothing as he was only wearing a pair of jeans – the waistband fit him loosely, exposing Woohyun’s hip bones which Sunggyu appreciatively ogled at.  

“Baby…” Sunggyu’s ears perked up at the rare term of endearment used for him as it was always him calling the younger man baby instead of the other way around, especially since he was the older one in their relationship.

“Hm?” Sunggyu pulled Woohyun to sit on his lap. “What does my baby need, hm?” He subconsciously began thumbing Woohyun’s exposed hip bones, the younger man shuddering in his arms.

“Can you please apply this for me?” Woohyun handed him a small tube of ointment, his eyes fell on the object in recognition.

“Is your back bothering you again?” Sunggyu felt stupid for asking the question. It had only been a few days since Woohyun hurt his back. After a trip to the doctor, thankfully it was nothing major as it was just a minor muscle sprain and bruising that left his back extremely tender to touch. They had been more careful with their ‘couple activity’ as not to worsen Woohyun’s condition.

“A little. It’s a bit sore. The bruise is slowly healing though,” Woohyun muttered.

He pushed himself off Sunggyu’s lap, putting a bit distance between them so that Sunggyu could easily apply the prescribed ointment on his back. Sunggyu started applying the slightly oily salve on Woohyun’s back, being extra careful not to press too hard against Woohyun’s healing bruises.

“You should lay off some housework, baby. Just rest, okay? We don’t want your back to get worse,” Sunggyu said, gently rubbing on Woohyun’s lower back though the area was free of injury.

“Ah h-hyung…what are you doing?” Woohyun groaned at the feeling on Sunggyu’s fingers massaging his lower back, the feeling somehow was extremely sensual, completely opposite of the initial atmosphere.

“This?” Sunggyu breathed near his nape, leaving gentle yet playful bites across Woohyun’s neck. “This is what I call service.” The younger man involuntarily moaned at the sensation that Sunggyu’s mouth gave him, exposing more of his vulnerable neck to Sunggyu’s playful attacks.

Just like that, Sunggyu’s mouth was suddenly gone from Woohyun’s neck. The younger man who didn’t realise he had closed his eyes at Sunggyu’s ministration turned around to look at his husband, who was cheekily grinning at him.

“What?”

Sunggyu’s grin widened.

“You need to wear a turtleneck tonight, Woohyun-ah,” Sunggyu chuckled, winking at his husband as he went to get ready too.

Woohyun made a quick dash to the bathroom, his jaw dropped as he spotted the angry red hickey blooming on his neck. He groaned.

-

“I can’t believe you gave me a hickey in a place where people can see,” Woohyun mumbled under his breath just when they were exiting their house. Sunggyu laughed quietly at his husband’s complaint.

“At least now you have a reason to wear that striped turtleneck I bought you,” Sunggyu reasoned.

“But still…am I supposed to go and grab a turtleneck whenever one of our neighbours comes over then? People would see and start speculating, hyung,” Woohyun said, his voice upset.

“Shit, I didn’t think of that…I’m sorry, Hyun,” Sunggyu said and was about to hold Woohyun’s hand when the younger man shied away from him, greeting Dongguk who seemed like he had been waiting for them in his front yard.

Maeum who spotted Woohyun ran towards him, hugging his legs before asking to be carried.

“Maeum-ah, Uncle Woohyun just came. Let him sit first,” Dongguk lightly scolded the girl, who made a sad face at his dad. Woohyun laughed at her and her attention was instantly back on Woohyun.

“Come. We’re eating in the patio. I’ve already had some food grilled and served,” Dongguk said, showing the way.

Sunggyu tried his best to maintain a neutral expression, this time it was a bit easier to do so as he didn’t have Dongguk ogling at his husband. They were introduced to Jung Junyoung, Kim Kibum and Kim Jonghyun, the neighbours that occupied house No 10, who didn’t make it to their welcoming party. The three of them were in an indie band, Junyoung and Jonghyun as the main vocalists who also played guitar while Kibum played the keyboard. They were on a tour for the past two months and only came back yesterday.

Sunggyu found himself engaging in a conversation with Junyoung, realising that they had similar passion for rock music and also the fact Junyoung was his age made him easier to talk to.

“You should come and see us perform. When we are not on tour, we perform regularly at this club in Hongdae. Does Woohyun like rock, too?” Junyoung asked, first time mentioning Woohyun’s name after they had been briefly introduced to each other. Woohyun had gone to entertain the kids with Kibum, who seemed to be annoyed that the kids were demanding his attention, but Sunggyu could see the corner of his lips curled up – definitely soft for kids too like Woohyun, Sunggyu concluded.

“Ah, Woohyun likes a lot of different genres. Though he might not be as passionate about rock as me, he does enjoy them sometimes,” Sunggyu said, couldn’t help himself from smiling dreamily at this one particular memory of them going to see Sunggyu’s favourite band in Busan.

“That’s great! Tell me when you guys are coming. We can hang out and drink afterwards. By the way, how long have you been friends with Woohyun?” Sunggyu couldn’t help the slight frown from climbing onto his face. He knew it was a normal question to ask (since they did live together after all), but he felt extremely annoyed that Junyoung’s attention seemed to be on Woohyun all of sudden when they were busy discussing music a while ago.

Now that he realised it, he noticed the way Junyoung kept on glancing back. Sunggyu initially thought that he was just watching the food on the barbecue grills, but now he realised how wrong he had been as every time Junyoung turned back, there was a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Sunggyu said, leaving Junyoung’s side.

Sunggyu politely asked Dongguk, who thankfully was busy with Daebak to get close to Woohyun that night, to use his bathroom. The older man showed him the way, saying that he also needed something from the kitchen. Not long after that, Woohyun followed him.

“Oh Woohyun-ah, what are you doing inside?” Woohyun found Dongguk taking a jug of watermelon juice from the fridge.

“I’m just looking for Sunggyu hyung. Where did he go?”

“He’s in the bathroom. You haven’t eaten, right? Because the kids won’t let you rest? Come, I’ll take care of them while you can eat with Kibum.”

Woohyun hesitated to follow Dongguk, curious of Sunggyu’s sudden disappearance. He was worried if his husband was sick, the older man not behaving like himself since morning.

“You need to use the bathroom, too?” Dongguk asked.

Woohyun shook his head in the last minute, finally trailing behind Dongguk, but not before throwing another concerned look at the closed bathroom door.

-

When Sunggyu returned, he told Dongguk that he was not feeling well and that he would go home to rest for the night, earning a worried gaze from Woohyun. The younger man was about to stand and follow his husband, Sunggyu stopped him.

“Stay, Woohyun-ah. I’ll be fine. It’s just a mild stomach ache,” Sunggyu said, everyone’s gaze on him was starting to make him sweat.

Sunggyu felt bad as he noted how Woohyun’s face fell when he asked him to stay, how worried the younger man had looked. He sighed quietly, leaving the patio and promising himself that he would make it up to Woohyun tonight.

To his surprise, he felt really drowsy as soon as he entered his empty house. Going up to his room in sluggish steps, he realised that his head started throbbing painfully when he lied down. He closed his eyes, silently hoping that it would pass and wishing that Woohyun would be home sooner, already missing his husband’s presence.

When Sunggyu woke up, there was a cold compress on his forehead. The room was dark except for the light from the connecting bathroom. He realised that Woohyun was not next to him though Woohyun’s sleeping spot felt warm next to him, a sign that he was just there a while ago. The sound of someone throwing up broke the quietness of their house. Sunggyu forced his aching body out of bed and made his way towards the bathroom.

As he suspected Woohyun was kneeling next to the toilet bowl, puking his gut out. When he noticed Sunggyu’s presence in the bathroom, he whined.

“Hyung, you’re sick. Go back to bed,” Woohyun said, his voice was hoarse, raw and it was obviously that he was in pain.

“You idiot. Did you eat meat earlier? You know you’re allergic, you should have rejected,” Sunggyu scolded him, kneeling down next to Woohyun to pat on his back. The younger man started dry heaving.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m here. Breathe,” Sunggyu instructed him. He forgot all about his aching, feverish body as he comforted Woohyun.

“I didn’t…the kids kept feeding me…” Woohyun struggled to say it.

“I’m sorry I left you alone. If I didn’t, this wouldn’t have happened,” Sunggyu said apologetically, hating himself even more for giving into his petty jealousy earlier.

“It’s not your f-fault,” Woohyun choked, teary eyed as he vomited again.

“God, where’s your antihistamines?”

“It’s finished. I forgot to r-restock.”

Sunggyu groaned in frustration, feeling extremely useless to help make Woohyun better.

“Hyung, can you help me up?” Woohyun looked up at him; he sighed, forcing himself to calm down as nothing good could come out of freaking out. He started helping his husband to his feet, realising how weak and shaky Woohyun’s steps were as he guided them back to their bedroom.

Lying Woohyun down, he then poured a glass of water from the nightstand and helped his husband to rinse off his mouth.

“Are you feeling okay? Do we need to go to the hospital, baby?” Sunggyu asked worriedly. Woohyun just simply nodded.

“Are _you_ okay though, hyung? I was surprised to see how high your temperature was when I got back from Dongguk hyung’s house earlier. Why didn’t you tell me you’re having a fever? I would have gone back with you.” It was Woohyun’s turn to nag at his husband.

The entire situation was suddenly too funny to Sunggyu as he broke into soft laugh, which earned him a weak slap on his arm.

“It’s not funny, hyung. What if you passed out earlier?” Woohyun scolded him.

“You’re not the one to talk, baby,” Sunggyu chuckled, glad that his fever didn’t seem that severe, only the fact that it caused him an aching body annoyed him.

“Are you really okay, Gyu hyung?” Woohyun asked again, this time Sunggyu knew that the younger man was really serious about his concern and that he shouldn’t make light about it in fear of hurting Woohyun even more.

“I’m sorry…Woohyun.”

Woohyun stared at Sunggyu with a shocked expression. Sunggyu had been apologising since morning.

“Hyung…what’s wrong? You’re not dying, are you?” Woohyun’s fear-stricken face was almost funny to Sunggyu. That was until he started crying.

“Yah, why are you crying? I’m fine, Woohyun-ah. I’m not dying. God, don’t be so overdramatic,” Sunggyu said, patting Woohyun’s head which was in his lap, Sunggyu realised. He must have been more tired than he thought as he didn’t even realise when Woohyun moved.

“Then why do you keep on apologising to me?” Woohyun asked, almost childlike as he looked into Sunggyu’s eyes with his still teary eyes.

“Because I’m such a petty husband.”

-

 

 


	14. Of Late Night Snacks and Kisses

-

It was half past two in the morning. After a few hours of tossing and dealing with a grumbling stomach, Sunggyu finally disentangled Woohyun’s arms around his waist, quietly slipping away from their bed to make his way to the kitchen to fulfill his protesting stomach. They had a lovely dinner earlier, but Sunggyu figured it must be the added stress from work that triggered his appetite to the point it was keeping him awake. He silently prayed that Woohyun wouldn’t suddenly wake up just to find out he was not in bed.

He should have known not to make such wish as not even five minutes into his messy sandwich-making preparation, a pair of arms slipped around his midriff, a sharp nose nuzzling against his nape, followed by something soft that brought goosebumps to Sunggyu’s skin.

“Why are you awake, hyung? Hungry?” Woohyun sleepily mumbled, pressing his face onto Sunggyu’s shoulder.

“Hyun, why are you up? I’ll be quick. Just go to bed,” Sunggyu said, struggling to open a can of tuna in his hand.

“You know I can’t sleep if you’re not next to me,” Woohyun uttered, rubbing his cheek against the fabric of Sunggyu’s sleepwear. Sunggyu would have teased the younger man for being so cheesy this early, but he was too frustrated with the hard work of opening the can and too hungry to make a smart remark. He groaned loudly, which caught Woohyun’s attention, the younger finally detaching himself from Sunggyu to see what his husband was trying to do.

“You’re going to cut your hand like that, Gyu hyung. Come, let me do it,” Woohyun said.

Just like that, their initial position changed as Woohyun stood facing the kitchen counter with Sunggyu backhugging him.

“How come you’re so good at this, baby?” Sunggyu mumbled as he kissed Woohyun’s neck.

Woohyun giggled at the ticklish sensation and lightly scolded his husband for distracting him from the task. He easily opened the can and began applying a generous amount of tuna on some bread. Walking to the fridge, which was a pretty difficult mission as Sunggyu was still stuck to his back like a gum, he fetched some lettuces and tomato to which the older man made an incoherent noise of protest.

“If you’re going to have a late night snack, might as well have a healthier version of it, hyung,” Woohyun remarked, cutting the sandwiches diagonally.

“Why didn’t you cut the crust, Hyun?” Sunggyu asked, earning a chuckle from Woohyun.

“You’re a big baby, do you know that Kim Sunggyu?” Woohyun said, finally turning around to face Sunggyu, still in his husband’s embrace. “Open up.”

Woohyun fed one of the sandwiches to Sunggyu, which the older man gladly accepted.

“God, I married the most perfect person in this world,” Sunggyu sighed as he silently munched on his snack, tightening his arm around Woohyun’s waist. He received a soft smack across his chest, pulling back to see an adorable redness gracing Woohyun’s cheeks as he expected.

“More?” Sunggyu said, opening his mouth in anticipation.

“You’re not 4. Eat with your own hands,” Woohyun said, trying to detach himself from Sunggyu’s embrace, but that only made Sunggyu hug him tighter.

“Are you going back to bed?” Sunggyu asked, Woohyun nodding to his question, his face was still red which indicated that he was still affected by Sunggyu’s remark earlier. Though when he saw Woohyun trying to stifle a yawn, he felt bad for saying, “At least stay with me for bit as I eat?”

They took the snacks to the living room, Woohyun agreeing to accompany Sunggyu having his supper. When they were seated on the couch with no space in between them, Sunggyu took one of Woohyun’s hands and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently. Woohyun gave him a puzzled look.

“I mean what I said earlier, Hyun. You’re the most perfect person I could wish for and I feel really lucky that I met and married you,” Sunggyu said, his eyes never leaving Woohyun’s.

Perhaps it was one of those weak moments people often faced when it’s so late into the night, but Sunggyu had always felt like this. Marrying Woohyun was his best decision in life. And Woohyun needed to know it, he probably already did know, but Sunggyu needed to say it so that his husband would hear it.

“Me too, Gyu hyung. I…thank you for marrying me,” Woohyun whispered, his voice trembled as well as his lower lip, “Thank you for loving me, thank you for saying ‘I do’ to me, just…thank you for everything.”

As soon as Woohyun finished his words, the tears started cascading down his cheeks. He hated himself for always being so emotional, but as Sunggyu pulled him close for a hug, the older man whispered to him as if answering the dark thoughts plaguing his mind, “I love you, Nam Woohyun, not more, not less.”

“You’re enough for me,” Sunggyu said as his lips searched and met Woohyun’s, the younger man meeting him halfway.

They kissed softly and slowly as they had all the time in the world. There was a hint of salty taste in their kiss as Woohyun was still crying, his body subtly still trembling as Sunggyu held him, but the kisses they exchanged were definitely sweet.

The snacks were forgotten as Sunggyu carried Woohyun back to bed, taking his time to kiss every inch of Woohyun’s face, every part of Woohyun’s body as he undressed him slowly, trailing kisses everywhere he could. His hunger was long forgotten as he, too, stepped out of his sleepwear. He wasn’t lying. Woohyun was definitely enough for him.

-


End file.
